


An Unusual Proposal

by emmabeth



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, POV Uchiha Sasuke, POV Uzumaki Naruto, Paintball, Romance, Rough Kissing, Sharing a Bed, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:47:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22022803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmabeth/pseuds/emmabeth
Summary: After you break up with someone you're supposed to be allowed to forget that person ever existed. Especially when that person broke up with you out of the blue for no reason. That's how it should be. But life isn't always how it should be. Sasuke needs a date for his brother's wedding and it has to be his ex. Understandably Naruto isn't exactly thrilled with the idea either. Just so long as being together didn't start any old fires, Sasuke will be happy.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 220
Kudos: 754





	1. Hear Me Out On This One...

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted to do a fake dating and I'm excited to be sharing this with you all.

“I just need you to pretend. And since you’re pretty fucking delusional, it should work.” Sasuke shook his head. “Leave that last part off.” He sighed at himself in the mirror. He’d been working on his speech for the last ten minutes and it didn’t sound any better.

He was basically doomed. There was no way Naruto would agree to any of this. A fake relationship? It was right out of some stupid soap opera or something. Yet here he was, planning on just that thing. Stupid, right? His ancestors were probably hiding their faces in shame over this Uchiha.

Sitting down on a chair in his bedroom, Sasuke took out his phone and crossed his fingers Naruto hadn’t changed his number. The phone rang through and Sasuke held his breath.

“Hello?” It was Naruto’s voice, plus the sound of wind and people talking, so he must be on his way home from work, Sasuke surmised.

“It’s me,” Sasuke said, his ‘oh so convincing’ speech flying out of his mind the instant he’d heard Naruto speak.

“Me who?” Naruto asked a little loudly. The wind must be blowing pretty hard.

“Sasuke,” he said loudly so Naruto would be able to hear. 

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, if not for the sound of the ambient noises, Sasuke might have thought Naruto had hung up on him.

”Still there?” Sasuke finally asked.

“What? Yes. No. Yes, I’m here,” Naruto babbled a little. “What is it?”

“I have a favor to ask,” Sasuke said, remembering it was best to speak directly with Naruto.

“I don’t owe you anything––wait, really?” Naruto had started with his usual flippant tone but sounded surprised as the request sank in.

“Yes, really.” He rolled his eyes. “Can we meet?”

“Shit.” Naruto probably meant to say under his breath but the phone picked it up clearly. “I guess so. Where and when?”

“How about at Rediscovered Books?” It was a cute little shop near Sasuke’s apartment; they sold used books and coffee. Best of all, they had several reading nooks, perfect for a quiet chat.

“That’s fine. But-” There was another long pause on the other end of the line. “You’re serious about this?” 

“Yeah, why not?” Sasuke questioned. Did he really think that Sasuke would call him up to arrange a fake meeting and not show up? Because that was even crazier than fake dating.

Naruto made an audible sigh. “Whatever. I’ll meet you there.”

“Can you meet me there in a half-hour?” Sasuke suggested hopefully. Naruto worked on the other side of town, so it would take him at least that amount of time to get to the bookstore.

“Yeah, I should be able to make that,” Naruto agreed. “See you soon. Bye.”

“Bye.” Sasuke smiled a little as he hung up his phone.

Naruto had always been insistent that they say goodbye properly, no hanging up and just letting the line go dead. If you hung up without some form of goodbye, Naruto would just call you right back and demand a proper goodbye. It was one of those stupid things that had driven Sasuke crazy but he’d never actually hated. When they’d been dating, Sasuke made a game of it sometimes, never saying goodbye just because he knew it annoyed Naruto. He sighed and whacked his phone against his forehead a few times. It was cruel in retrospect, he wished he knew why he ended up being an ass so often.

After scolding himself he changed clothes, selecting his outfit with care. He didn’t want to look like he was trying, but he couldn’t just not try either. It had been only three months since their break up and Sasuke didn’t want Naruto to think he’d fallen to pieces. Which he hadn’t. At all. Not in the least.

He slipped on a plain black cotton v-neck and some dark jeans. The jeans clung a little, making his ass look good, but not good enough he was showing off. Hopefully. 

He walked to Rediscovered Books and sighed happily as he crossed the threshold. The place smelled like books and coffee, and there really weren’t any better scents in the whole world. Only one other smell came to mind that Sasuke loved more, a certain someone with blonde hair and tan skin curled up in his bed, all warm with the morning sun. Sasuke quickly buried that memory and scolded himself for even thinking about it.

“Hello, Sasuke.” The barista greeted him. She was a bright perky girl who always felt the need to bat her eyes at Sasuke.

“Hello, Ino.” He nodded, “I’ll have two shots of espresso on ice and iced dirty chai.” The first was his usual summer drink and the other was for Naruto.

Ino’s eyes widened when Sasuke ordered the second drink, “So Mr. Dirty Chai is going to meet you here again? We were wondering what happened to him.” She giggled before turning to start on the drinks.

Sasuke also turned away so she wouldn’t see him blush. He wasn’t at all sure how he felt about having the staff watching his relationship with ‘Mr. Dirty Chai’ and wondering about them.

Ino served up both drinks with a little flirty bat of her eyes at Sasuke. With a mental sigh, Sasuke tipped her a full twenty percent. He didn’t want to encourage the little flirty eyes, but this was his favorite place and she did make great drinks.

Taking the drinks upstairs he found the large window seat and sat in it with a smile. The window overlooked a courtyard where most of the coffee shop patrons sat. It was relaxing to sit up here, alone in his own world and look over everyone else below.

“You’re pretty predictable.” A laughing voice nearby made Sasuke frown as he was taken out of his private world. 

Naruto stood by a bookshelf and with the sunlight pouring through the window behind Sasuke his blonde hair was blazing bright and his usual warm and sunny smile seemed twice as dazzling. Sasuke clenched his jaw, otherwise, he’d just be staring open-mouthed at his ex. Thirsty was the ugly word that came to mind. Staring thirstily. But damn, could anyone blame him? Naruto was by far and away the most beautiful person Sasuke had ever met. He brought the sunshine into the room with him on a good day, and on a bad day? Well, he still had those baby blue eyes that always had a sparkle to them. The killer body and summer tan were just the cherries on top. Nope, breaking up had done nothing to make Sasuke less attracted to Naruto.

“Coffee.” Sasuke held out the drink, his voice stiff and his gesture abrupt. “You still drink iced dirty chai right?” 

“Of course.” Naruto smiled, “Thanks.” He sat down next to Sasuke, leaving a pillow between them so that they weren’t sitting too close.

“How have you been?” Sasuke asked, his voice a little stilted. He knew he needed to relax, he couldn’t let Naruto know how affected he was by their meeting. Especially not when Naruto was acting perfectly normal. 

Naruto swirled his paper straw around in his drink and frowned. “Horrible. I just had to end a two-year relationship.” 

“Oh you ‘had’ to end it did you?” Sasuke snorted. 

“Yes!” Naruto frowned. “Why did you call me?” He asked, abruptly changing the conversation.

It was for the best, Sasuke didn’t want to fight with him in public. Or anywhere really. Especially not when he had a crazy favor to ask of him. “I have a favor to ask.”

Naruto shook his head with a wry smile, “I never thought I’d hear you say that and here I’ve heard it twice in one day.”

“Don’t rub it in.” Sasuke sighed but kept going. “You remember we were supposed to go to a party at my parent's house that weekend?” They were heading to the weekend they broke up, but Sasuke would rather not mention it again.

“Yeah.” Naruto nodded sadly, “Of course I remember.”

Sasuke gave a nod of satisfaction. “At that party, Itachi announced his engagement.”

“Really?” Naruto’s eyebrows shot up, he chuckled a little, “I never thought he’d be able to get Kakashi to commit.”

“You and me both.” Sasuke smiled a little.

“Good for him though. I’m sure they’ll be happy.” Naruto grinned. He was always stupidly sweet, even though he was unhappy about his own life, here he was feeling honestly happy for someone else.

“They’d better be.” Sasuke chuckled, “My brother wouldn’t stand for anything less.”

“So…” Naruto swirled around the ice in his cup, “That must have been kinda awkward for you though. I mean, having just broken up.”

“It would have been.” Sasuke agreed, “But I actually didn’t tell them.”

“Oh.” Naruto nodded, “That would sort of kill the mood.”

“Right.” Sasuke nodded. “I’m glad you agree. So you’ll understand then that I haven’t said anything about us ending things to them. To anyone.”

Naruto shrugged, “I guess, but it’s not my business anymore.” He said with only mild amounts of bitterness.

“The wedding is next weekend.”

Again, Naruto shrugged a little, “I still don’t see what this has to do with me.”

Sasuke sighed, “They will think it’s terribly strange if my boyfriend doesn’t come.” He should have known he’d have to spell it out. 

Naruto blinked as he processed what Sasuke was saying, and then he groaned. “Oh my god. You’re kidding me!” He said loudly.

“Shhh, this is a bookstore.” Sasuke scolded him.

“I don’t care,” Naruto whispered angrily. “I can’t believe it. No way. What the hell, Sasuke! You’ve got to be joking.”

Sasuke just drank his drink and looked at the wall of books opposite them, letting Naruto stew.

“Admit that it’s crazy! Just tell the truth.” Naruto blustered a little more. “It’s a plot from a rom-com, you know that right?” 

Drinking the last sip of his drink, Sasuke waited for Naruto to finish.

“You could just make up some shit story about me or something. Tell them I broke up with you at the last minute. I wouldn’t even mind.” Naruto suggested. 

Actually, Sasuke had thought about it, but it wouldn’t do any good.

“Come on, this is crazy. This kind of thing always ends badly in movies.” Naruto waved one hand around while he spoke. 

_ Five, four, three, two, one,  _ Sasuke counted down in his mind as Naruto ground his teeth with frustration.

“I’m not going to do it.” Naruto crossed his arms and shook his head.

“It’s Itachi’s wedding,” Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto ground his teeth a little more and didn’t say anything for once.

“If I’m recently broken up, you know he’ll spend all his time mothering me and won’t enjoy a second of his wedding.” 

Opening his mouth to disagree, Naruto must have thought better of it and just frowned, taking a long drink. Sadly it was a bit of an understatement to say Itachi would just be distracted during his wedding. Itachi normally smothered Sasuke in affection when he thought his brother was feeling down. He’d skipped his own prom just to take care of Sasuke when he had a cold. That was just the kind of big brother Itachi was. It was nice but overwhelming. And it had its drawbacks. Sasuke hated that his brother skipped out on important things for Sasuke’s sake. 

There was also the fact that if Sasuke was single, his mother would think this would be the perfect time to start trying to match him up with someone else. The woman was a ruthless matchmaker and made sure that Sasuke never stayed single. But he didn’t think he’d win points with Naruto by pointing that out. 

“So just for the wedding and reception right? Then we’re done?” Naruto asked. He’d been biting his straw so it looked all mashed on top. 

“And the rehearsal dinner. And the bachelor’s party.” Sasuke added with a sigh. It wasn’t like he was looking forward to these things either. At least he wasn’t looking forward to doing them in a fake relationship with his ex. 

The thing he was betting on here was how much Naruto really liked Itachi. They’d been really good friends even before Sasuke had started dating Naruto. So hopefully he’d be willing to do this for Itachi’s sake. 

Naruto frowned at Sasuke, his blue eyes staring him down. “Do you really think this will work?” 

Sasuke nodded, “If you can just be yourself, it'll be fine. I’ll do my part.” 

Swirling around his drink a few times Naruto sighed. “Are we going to have to kiss and stuff?” 

Instantly Sasuke thought of another meeting here in this bookshop, in the spring when things had been good, pressing Naruto against a shelf of books, kissing him wildly. Every detail was so clear, the way his mouth had tasted and felt, their fingers intertwined and grasping tightly.

He cleared his throat and frowned, trying to shake the vivid memory, “We might. Just to look normal. If we’re lucky Itachi will be so busy he won't have time to notice if things aren't quite right.” 

Naruto considered it for a moment, chewing the end of his staw a little more. 

Sasuke watched his pink lips, the flash of white teeth, it was a gross habit but at the moment it looked sexy. Oh boy. This was going to be harder than he thought to keep up pretenses. 

“Okay.” Naruto finally said, giving Sasuke a small smile. “But no funny business. This kind of thing always ends up being forced to share a bed or in a broken down car somewhere. So none of that.” 

Sasuke snorted, “Good to know your overactive imagination is still intact.” He said. 

Really… broken down cars? As if that would lead to ‘funny business’. Sasuke had barely survived the breakup and it would take more than some silly fake date to make Sasuke want to go back. 


	2. Hoodies

Naruto nervously shifted from foot to foot as he waited on the curb for Sasuke to pick him up. This was crazy. Like full on Ryan Reynolds as The Green Lantern crazy. Or maybe that had just been sad instead of crazy. Well, this was sad too. Sad crazy. They were sad crazy together. 

Sasuke had this horrible way of looking at Naruto with deep endless dark eyes and making Naruto want to do anything just because Sasuke had asked. It wasn’t fair. After you broke up with someone you were supposed to be allowed to forget that other person existed at all. Not have to keep dating them. At the very least you were supposed to be immune to all their cute and sexy quirks, like the way they still ruffled their hair just so or that they bit the inside of their cheek when they were nervous. But no, Naruto had been fully influenced by Sasuke as usual. He had never been able to resist him. And even after Naruto had had his heart broken by him, he still couldn’t get away from Sasuke. 

Part of him wondered if he should give up on this crazy idea and leave Sasuke to suffer the consequences. But crazy ideas had always been one thing Naruto couldn’t say no to. Plus, he really did like Sasuke’s moody older brother. Itachi had always been really nice to Naruto and helped him out of a few fights with Sasuke. So he stuck it out, waiting for Sasuke to come pick him up and promising himself he would make this work for Itachi’s sake. 

The weather had turned cooler the last couple days; Naruto was wearing a hoodie with his jeans. Sasuke didn’t like hoodies, in fact, his ex-boyfriend had gone to great lengths to slowly replace every hoodie in Naruto’s wardrobe with a sweater. So it gave him a little pleasure to wear this one as Sasuke pulled up to the curb and opened the trunk for Naruto to toss his bag into. 

He put his duffle in the back of the BMW next to Sasuke’s small suitcase. With one last sigh he got in the car with Sasuke. It smelled like him in here, like rain and coffee and long nights in front of the bay window watching the moon. Stupid Sasuke. He was already making Naruto think all sorts of gushy thoughts. 

“Did you at least bring nice clothes for the party?” Sasuke asked without so much as a hello, his dark eyes raking over Naruto’s clothes with obvious dislike. 

Naruto laughed, glad his outfit had worked. “There’s my cranky boyfriend,” he said happily and then felt a stab when he realized it should be ‘ex-boyfriend’. Or in this case, fake-boyfriend. It had slipped out unintentionally. 

Sasuke sighed and pulled back into traffic, not rising to the bait. 

Buckling up, Naruto leaned forward to pick some good music. He turned it to the modern popular station. Sasuke always listened to alternative stations and since they weren’t actually dating, Naruto didn’t have to pretend he liked it. 

“Thank you for coming,” Sasuke said stiffly over a new Post Malone song. 

Naruto smiled, he probably shouldn’t enjoy this but it was fun to watch Sasuke out of control and in a situation where he had to say things like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. 

“You should probably wait until we’re done to thank me.” Naruto chuckled. 

“No matter how it turns out, I’m glad you’re at least trying. I don’t want Itachi’s wedding to be messed up because of something I did,” Sasuke said seriously. 

In the past, there had been times when Naruto was almost jealous of the way Sasuke loved his brother, was totally devoted to him. It was silly to compare sibling relationships with the one of lovers, but he’d wanted just a piece of what Sasuke felt for Itachi. Maybe if he’d felt that things wouldn’t have unraveled later.

It wasn’t like Sasuke hadn’t loved him during the years they’d been together. He just never said anything about love. Sasuke had been sweet, kind, caring, in many ways a perfect boyfriend. Naruto had thought he’d be okay with someone who couldn’t ever say the words that mattered, so long as they showed them sometimes. Until it hadn’t been enough and Naruto wanted more. Things had fallen apart so fast. They’d been fighting and Naruto just wanted to hear those little words. But Sasuke had been unwilling still and Naruto was too proud to beg. 

“So what have you told them about me these past months?” Naruto asked as they drove. 

Sasuke shrugged, he was still a speed demon, darting in and out of traffic. “That you’re busy with work mostly. You joined a soccer club that keeps you busy on weekends now too.” 

Naruto laughed, the club sounded fun actually. “We still live together I assume?” 

“Of course.” Sasuke nodded. 

“Did I ever talk you into getting a puppy?” Naruto chuckled, thinking back to their endless discussions and pro-and-con lists of a pet. 

“Hell no.” Sasuke shook his head. He didn’t like messy pets. Even fish were too messy. The control freak thing was actually not something Naruto had a big issue with, he honestly needed someone to help organize his life. But the fact that Sasuke never gave in, always had to have it his way, was where it had been an issue. 

Naruto put on a fake pout. “Since we’re fake dating we should be talking about getting a fake puppy.” 

Sasuke set his jaw in that way that Naruto knew so well. 

“Come on, if I’m going to help you, you can at least actually consider getting a pet. It’s not even real for God’s sake,” Naruto couldn’t help but press him. 

Sasuke turned and glared at him before sighing. “We can talk about a cat. Maybe.” 

“A cat?” Naruto hummed a little and stretched out in his seat, sliding it back all the way. He knew better than to put his feet on the dash but he did tip the seat back so he wasn’t sitting upright anymore. “That would be fun. I like them too.” He grinned. 

“I don't get why you’re so obsessed with pets.” Sasuke shook his head. 

“Because they’re cute and fun and adorable.” Naruto shrugged. 

“They’re a time and money sucking invention. We couldn’t go on any trips if we had a pet because you’d worry about your little angel,” Sasuke countered. 

“But we could enjoy the company of a pet and have fun looking after it.” 

“You mean I’d have to look after it. You can’t even pick up your socks,” Sasuke said, setting his jaw again. 

Naruto couldn’t believe they were going to fight about a fake hypothetical pet. He’d started this, but now he wanted it to stop. It was too real, too much like the arguments they used to have. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. 

“One thing they have going for them is they offer unconditional love and nobody ever has to wonder if they really love you or not,” Naruto snapped before he could stop. 

Sasuke slammed on his breaks at a red light and cursed as they came to a dead stop. He looked over at Naruto, one of those unreadable looks on his face. Naruto looked away and out the window. He couldn’t look at Sasuke right now, not when he didn’t know what kind of face he was making. 

The past was still too recent. He didn’t feel comfortable in this car with Sasuke. Not when he could remember so clearly the time Sasuke had slipped over the stick shift and right into Naruto’s lap in the flickering light of a parking lot. God, it had been amazing, their breath had fogged the windows while they kissed madly, passion sweeping over them. He loved Sasuke when he would finally let go and ride wave after wave of pleasure. Their fumbling fingers had barely managed to undo the buttons on their slacks. Normally Sasuke was such a freak about his car, but he finally stopped caring as they tossed off just enough clothes. Hearts pounding and blood rushing, they’d been so desperate and wild together, the car rocking in the most obvious way. They’d barely driven away before security came to investigate. Damn. It felt like it had only happened yesterday. Naruto had to take a deep breath and force the memories away. 

Thankfully, Sasuke didn’t say anything about Naruto’s quip, though it was also a little disappointing. Just like their break up. There hadn’t been any fight over it. Once Naruto said he was leaving, Sasuke had put up a little struggle but he’d given up pretty damn quickly. 

It took about two hours to drive out to Sasuke’s mom’s house. She had a large place in the country overlooking the Great Lake. Naruto had been here a handful of times during their relationship. Mikoto had been very kind to him and always invited them for holidays and long weekends. Though back then, Sasuke and Naruto had far preferred to spend their time together all alone. 

They drove past the stable block where Sasuke had taught Naruto to ride horses. Where they’d also spent a fair amount of time rolling around in the hay. Another steamy memory to be driven away to the dark places of Naruto’s mind and locked up. Naruto sighed and looked the other way. 

After Naruto’s little remark, there hadn’t been much of any conversation between them and when Sasuke pulled around to the garage they both sighed, already weary. 

“Please, Naruto. I know you’re not comfortable but I need this,” Sasuke said, his long pale fingers clenching the steering wheel leather. 

“I know. It’ll be fine.” Naruto nodded, trying to convince himself just as much as Sasuke. He’d already decided to make it work. He wasn’t going to purposely spoil things. They were going to be together one last time, even if it was just play pretend. 

Sasuke nodded and got out of the car without looking at him. 

Naruto climbed out and put a smile on his face, relaxing his shoulders and getting in character. The first time they’d come here, Naruto had been so nervous. Meeting the boyfriend’s parent. It was intimidating to say the least. But Sasuke had been extra sweet and Mikoto couldn’t be nicer, so that Naruto’s worries had melted away in no time. 

“You’re here at last!” Mikoto said, coming out into the garage and hugging her son. 

“I told you it’d be late afternoon.” Sasuke smiled and hugged her back. 

She rubbed his back and let go of him before coming over to Naruto, arms open to hug him as well. “Hello, Naruto honey.” 

Naruto hugged her back, leaning into it a little. He’d always treasured her motherly hugs because he’d never had anything like it before. 

“Hello, Mikoto. I’m so excited for this weekend! How are you doing?” he asked, grinning and looking at her. 

“I’m doing quite well, all things considered. This wedding has been such a fun thing to prepare though! We hired a lovely wedding planner and she and I have been hard at work. I’m so glad you can be here, honey. We have missed you lately,” she said, taking Naruto’s hand and leading him inside.

They left Sasuke to follow behind them with the bags. Naruto was momentarily saddened as he realized he had really missed her and never even said goodbye. Hopefully, after the wedding, he could say a final goodbye when he and Sasuke broke up again. 

What a depressing thought. Breaking up again.The first time they’d broken up, it had been a relief. Now it was just… sad somehow. 

“I’m glad I could be here too,” he said honestly, smiling at her. “I’m sure it’s going to be wonderful thanks to all your hard work.” 

She laughed and squeezed Naruto’s hand. “You’re sweet. But really, Sasuke has been so busy and so have you. The two of you need a nice long weekend to relax. So don’t forget to take a little time to yourselves.” 

Naruto frowned. Before they’d broken up they had been so busy with work and other commitments, they really hadn’t spent much time together those last few months. Maybe if they had… ‘Maybe…’ ‘If only…’ Wistful and sorrowful phrases that didn’t help anyone. Even though he knew they didn’t help, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking like that. 

It was unusual for him to be so wrapped up in his own thoughts and trying to figure out the past. Normally he was a charge straight ahead and don’t look back type. The past two months he’d done everything he could to forget Sasuke and the crumbling days and weeks before their relationship had ended. 

Not like it had been easy. Sasuke was in every part of Naruto’s life, the clothes he wore, the foods he’d learned to eat, the movies he watched, even the music he didn’t like but missed somehow. Relearning to live had been a colossal effort and it had all been shattered by one phone call. The unknown number flashed on his screen and he’d picked it up without a second thought.

He looked back over his shoulder at Sasuke, hauling both bags and grumbling under his breath. Sasuke probably thought over the past a lot. It was more like him. But did he? Had he spared a thought for Naruto after they had broken up? 

Naruto sighed. This kind of thinking is exactly why he shouldn’t be around Sasuke again. Exs shouldn’t have to keep being together. It got too confusing. 

So it was up to Naruto to keep it unconfusing. And to do that he had rewatched nearly every fake relationship movie he’d heard of. He was on guard and ready for any odd situations that may arise. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for the comments and kudos everyone! I'm really glad people are enjoying this with me.


	3. Pretending

Sasuke carried both bags up to his room, his mom and Naruto leading the way. She left them to settle in and Sasuke put their things down. So far so good. In some of his worst imaginings, they didn’t even get in through the door successfully before someone figured it out. And after that little cutting remark in the car, he’d wondered if Naruto was really on board. 

“Sasuke,” Naruto said, glaring at him. He was still standing with his back to the closed door and looking mad again. 

“What?” he asked. This weekend might be very long indeed...

“Why are we sharing a room?” Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and made that frowny face that always looked vaguely comical. 

It was a terrible cliche, but some people were just damn cute when they were mad. And Naruto was one of them. Even when he was boiling mad and not just pissy like he was right now, Naruto was freaking cute when he was upset. The angry little faces he made, the confused long humming sound he would make, the childish crossing his arms over his chest. Naruto was just freaking adorable. The hard part had always been to not laugh at an adorably angry Naruto. Sasuke hadn’t always been so good at keeping his amusement to himself. The best thing to do was to keep a calm and normal demeanor. 

“Because we’re dating…?” Sasuke said with a shrug. He didn’t know what Naruto was getting at, but he knew his blonde would work up to it sooner than later. Wait, not his blonde. The blonde. 

“I told you we aren’t sharing a bed!” Naruto said. 

Sasuke sighed, he remembered Naruto saying that but he hadn’t taken it seriously. He thought all that stuff about being forced to share a bed was just rambling about movie plots. They’d shared a bed for two years and Sasuke had never once attacked him when it wasn’t consensual, so he didn’t get why Naruto was suddenly acting all bothered. 

“I’ll sleep on the floor if it’s important.” He shrugged again. It wasn’t worth the fight. 

“It is important!” Naruto insisted. “That’s where things start going wrong.” 

“Referencing your movies again?” Sasuke asked, leaning against the footboard of his bed. Honestly, this guy had blind faith in movie stars but for some reason, he doubted the person closest to him, his boyfriend. 

“Yes.” Naruto nodded.

“You know, you seem awfully nervous you’ll fall for me again. Do you really think you would slip up over one night?” He smirked, teasing Naruto. It was so much easier to tease him than to be real, to actually say what was on his mind. 

Naruto blushed and looked offended. “I wouldn’t be that stupid.” 

The words cut just as they’d been intended and Sasuke felt a sharp stab in his foolish heart. He should walk away from that, just like he had after Naruto’s little remark in the car. He could be the bigger person and just take it on the chin. The problem was, his vanity was wounded, and one of Sasuke’s weak spots was his vanity. The blow to his pride made him turn up his nose in a sneer. 

“We could get one of the barn cats to come love on you. They don’t require as much as a human lover, probably easier for you to handle.” 

Naruto stepped forward, anger erupting on his face. “You little-” 

A knock on the door interrupted any further fighting. “Sasuke? Naruto? I forgot to mention, we’re going to be having a little snack out on the patio. You boys come on out and join us,” Mikoto called from outside. 

Sasuke took a breath and forced himself to respond in a careful tone, “Sure, mom. Just a minute.” He called. 

After they heard her step on the stairs Naruto sighed. “Do you think she heard?” he asked.

“I don't know.” Sasuke shook his head, frowning. 

“Shit.” Naruto frowned and hugged himself. 

“Let’s just assume she didn’t. Even if she heard us fighting, she won’t know the truth,” Sasuke said, going to check his appearance in the mirror. 

“Okay,” Naruto agreed, looking at the ground sadly. 

Sasuke fixed his hair, admonishing himself for being an ass again. He thought of various ways to apologize. Maybe he could bribe Naruto with a new watch or give him an extra cookie during dinner. It’s what he would normally do. Indirect ways of speaking were far better than ever saying anything aloud. He couldn’t help he’d been raised that way, at least he had by his dad when his dad was alive. It was a bad habit sadly. It was too late to fix what had happened before, but he could probably fix this right now. 

He swallowed his pride and turned around, meeting Naruto’s eyes. “I’m sorry. That was cruel. About the cat…” 

Naruto’s eyes widened, clearly surprised to hear an apology. “Why do you say stuff like that?” 

“I don't know…” Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck. “Whenever I’m hurt I just lash out.” 

“You don’t have to explain that part to me! I know that!” Naruto said with a snort. “I mean why not just like just tell me off for crossing a line or demand an apology? Why do you always have to escalate things?” 

“I’m not the only one who does!” Sasuke said, back on the defensive. But this time he bit off a retaliatory remark. He counted to himself, trying to calm back down,  _ Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six... _ “I’ll try not to.” 

“Thank you,” Naruto said with a satisfied nod. 

Well, that had gone better than pretty much any fight during their two years of dating. If only they’d been able to settle things so smoothly back then. He wondered if that’s why Naruto had broken up with him. Was he tired of Sasuke’s tendency to be… pissy? He wouldn’t blame Naruto. He just wished he knew if that’s what it was. 

He knew for a fact that it was his stupid pride that had made him let Naruto walk away. He’d felt too wounded and vulnerable to stop Naruto and talk about anything. So he’d let Naruto pack a bag and leave, his heart breaking in the process. He really was a foolish man. 

But at least he was growing now, right? Sasuke hoped that’s what it was. It was about time he learned coping skills. “Let’s go down,” Sasuke said, shaking his thoughts away. 

“Wait. I need to change,” Naruto said, going to his bag and taking it to the bathroom. 

Sasuke silently sighed in relief. He couldn’t believe Naruto had wasted good money on buying another hoodie. The guy looked so good in so many things, but hoodies? No. Might as well wear a dumpy trash bag. 

Naruto came out of the bathroom a moment later, wearing a long-sleeved casual button-down shirt that he had tucked into his jeans. The shirt was a summer berry color that made his blond hair stand out even more. He opened his arms, letting Sasuke inspect him. 

“Better?” 

“Yes.” Sasuke smiled at him and led the way outside. 

The patio was bathed in warm sunshine, making it pleasant to sit out on in the late afternoon. His mother and brother were already sprawled out on the cozy lounge furniture. On the coffee table was an arrangement of snacks and punch. 

Itachi stood up and hugged his brother. “Good to see you.” He smiled. 

Sasuke was still shorter than him and looked up to chuckle. “You saw me two days ago when you were freaking out about the party,” he reminded him before sitting. 

Itachi smiled at Naruto and gave him a friendly hug too. “I’m glad you’re here. You need to keep an eye on my brother. You know how he gets at parties,” Itachi said with a fond look at Sasuke. 

Naruto laughed and sat down in a chair next to Sasuke. “Don’t worry, I’ll watch him.” He nodded.

“Like you’re any better at parties, Itachi?” Kakashi laughed while he came out to join them, tucking his phone in his pocket. He kissed Itachi’s cheek before taking a seat on the sofa with him. 

“I’ll be okay at this party at least.” Itachi smiled happily and leaned into Kakashi’s side. 

It warmed Sasuke to see them together, both of them had gone through some rough times earlier in their lives. If anyone deserved happiness, it was them. 

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Naruto’s hand on his arm, stroking him for a minute before sliding his hand down to lightly clasp hands. 

Of course, it was all part of the plan, and Naruto was living up to his end perfectly. A tactile person like Naruto never was really happy unless he’d been holding Sasuke or touching him in some way. When they’d first started dating, Sasuke had been a little overwhelmed by the amount of touching. But before he’d known it, Naruto’s soft little caresses and easy hand-holding had been like a warm blanket wrapped around Sasuke. All the more cruel when he’d been left alone again, trying to go back to his old life of isolation… it seemed impossible., An arm’s length between Sasuke and the next person felt like a mile. How he’d longed to be greeted by a hand on his arm or someone playing with his hair. Physical intimacy that had nothing to do with sex had been something Naruto had brought into Sasuke’s life and then taken away again. 

Right now the innocent touch made Sasuke’s heart leap in his chest, the aching familiarity of the way their fingers felt intertwined. He’d wanted this so badly, Naruto’s warm hands, rough but gentle, holding him lightly. 

God, maybe Naruto actually was right with all his dumb movie references. If his pulse jumped just from hand-holding, sharing a bed probably was a stupid idea. It was doubly mortifying to realize that not only did Naruto have a point, but it was Sasuke who was the weak one. 

He snuck a glance at Naruto’s face, wondering if he had noticed the way Sasuke had jumped or the way his pulse had pounded there for a moment. But Naruto was happily chatting away with his family as if he’d never left. 

Sasuke forced himself to relax and get a handle on himself. There was nothing special about this, it wasn’t personal. It was just what it was, hand-holding. No need to feel more or want more or any of that. He refused to be the one who couldn’t handle this. He leaned into Naruto as best he could over the arm of his chair, letting their shoulders brush. 

Naruto glanced at him and Sasuke could see the way just the tips of Naruto’s ears turned pink. Good. At least he was affected by their proximity too. Sasuke saw Itachi watching. His dark eyes were alert as always, probably his mom sense tingling. 

Fully aware that his brother was going to be judging them, Sasuke leaned in, forcing himself to kiss his ‘boyfriend’ at an appropriate moment. It was slow, Naruto’s bright eyes dropping down to Sasuke’s lips and he sighed softly, his breath puffing against Sasuke’s lips a moment before he connected their mouths. 

Even this chaste and simple kiss carried so many memories. It was like feeling Sasuke like this triggered them all at once, forcing them to come flooding back. How many times had he kissed these sweet, lush lips? How often had he listened to Naruto babble on about something insane and stopped him with a kiss like this? He’d missed this feeling. 

A shaft of ice hit him in the heart as he thought about how it was all a sham. 

Sasuke planted a good kiss on him before he pulled away. He tried to act casual, just reaching for his drink like something earth-shattering hadn’t just happened. Naruto was still blushing a little, but seemed to also be playing it cool. He fell back into the conversation easily enough. 

Thankfully, Itachi seemed to accept their kiss and he looked back at Kakashi. Sasuke felt relieved. Fooling his big brother was never easy but if they could pull it off, Sasuke promised himself he’d never try to do it again. Hopefully, there would never be a need to again. Doing it once was sure to last Sasuke a lifetime. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry I didn't update last weekend. I had just finished binge-watching The Witcher and I needed to get a fic out for it! but here is your update! hope you are all enjoying the story! I'm trying to include as many fake-dating movie references as I can. see if you can spot them all! lol.


	4. Accidents Happen

“Come on, your rehearsal will be starting soon. We need to get ready,” Mikoto said, getting everyone up and moving. 

Naruto got up and nearly jumped out of his skin when Sasuke took his hand. Sasuke had already filled him in that the wedding was to be held at the house, so everyone would be coming together to rehearse. As a reward, there would be a nice dinner later. But, Naruto realized as he checked his smartwatch and sighed, dinner would be a long time from now. 

“You’ll be fine,” Sasuke said, watching him. 

Did those dark eyes ever stop watching? Ever stop knowing what was happening around him? Naruto nodded to Sasuke. “Of course I will.”

The wedding planner arrived and things got cooking. She didn’t like that Naruto was just sitting around, so he got assigned to greet people on the day of the wedding. She gave him a packet, no joke, a whole packet of information on how to greet people. No way in hell was he going to read that. Like he didn’t know how to greet someone… He rolled his eyes when the wedding organizer wasn’t looking, but pretended to read it while the rest of the rehearsal went on. 

He didn’t like the rehearsal part. It seemed a little silly, all the rules about how to walk properly down the aisle and where to stand and where to sit. And it took forever to run through the ceremony, up and down the aisle over and over. For Naruto, it would have sucked the joy right out of the whole thing. But Itachi and Kakashi seemed happy still, and most of the wedding party looked like they were having fun. 

Sasuke, of course, was his brother’s best man and as such, had a lot to learn from the sound of it. The wedding lady was schooling him something fierce and Sasuke had to just accept it and be good. Which was amusing to see, of course. Naruto couldn’t help but watch him from afar. Sasuke had been stiff during the family chat before, but he looked more relaxed now. 

_ Maybe he could just relax better away from me, _ Naruto thought with a bitter sigh. 

Itachi had two other groomsmen that Naruto recognized but didn’t remember their names. One of them had bright blue hair and the other was definitely one of the Uchiha cousins. Honestly, all the Uchiha guys looked the exact same. Except for Sasuke of course. Naruto would still swear up and down that it was an empirical fact: Sasuke was the best-looking Uchiha. 

Kakashi had three groomsmen on his side as well. A big guy who was vaping much to the annoyance of everyone, and a brown-haired guy that seemed to be enjoying everything. Kakashi’s best man was another Uchiha cousin, making the wedding party look more like an Uchiha family reunion than marriage. 

Finally, they were dismissed. The wedding organizer looked like she might have kept them longer if she hadn’t been afraid of a mutiny. 

Naruto jumped up and hurried to Sasuke’s side, wanting to get some dinner as soon as possible. Sasuke was chatting with one of his cousins and smiling. Naruto walked up behind him and, reminding himself they were “dating”, he slid one arm around Sasuke’s waist and leaned into him. 

“I’m starving. Let’s go eat,” he said with puppy eyes. He was only a few inches taller than Sasuke, so he had to look down at him a little, and it made the eyes slightly less effective. 

Sasuke looked up at him and rolled his eyes. “It’s all about mealtimes with you.” He chuckled, but it was said fondly and Naruto smiled. 

“Yep.” He tugged on Sasuke’s trim waist, realizing for the first time that Sasuke had lost weight these last months. Sure, he’d always been a skinny guy, but when Naruto pressed in close he knew that Sasuke must have lost at least a few significant pounds these last months. It worried him, probably more than it should. Was Sasuke not taking care of himself? He put his arm more firmly around Sasuke, a protective gesture that must have been a remnant stuck in his muscle memory. 

“Okay, no need to pull on me,” Sasuke said to Naruto before he nodded goodbye to his cousins. 

Naruto kept his arm around him all the way to the car before he let him go. Kakashi and Itachi were already making out in their car in the garage but Naruto and Sasuke pretended not to notice, walking right past them. 

“You’ve lost weight,” Naruto said as Sasuke pulled out of the garage. He needed to know why. 

Sasuke gave him a surprised look before shrugging. “I guess.” 

Naruto ran a hand through his hair, sighing. He didn’t like the idea that Sasuke was not looking out for himself. Sasuke had always been so fiercely independent and capable, if he was not taking care of himself, it was a bad sign. 

“Don’t worry about me,” Sasuke said, probably reading Naruto’s train of thought.

“Of course I worry about you,” Naruto said. Just cause they broke up didn’t mean that worrying about him would ever end. Well, it had ended before. Naruto had spent three months trying hard to forget about Sasuke. But he was worried about him now. 

“I’m fine. Really. I just haven’t been hitting my gym lately so I’ve been dieting to kind of offset that,” Sasuke said smoothly, eyes on the road. 

Naruto wasn’t sure if he believed him, but he didn’t argue. Sometimes when Sasuke had gotten involved in a project at work, he’d skip a meal or two, but Naruto had always been there to make him eat again. 

Or maybe it wasn't just a project? Naruto felt a surprisingly hopeful thought that it was about the breakup. Was Sasuke really affected by it? Not that that was an excuse to starve himself. But the thought that Sasuke, his cool and aloof ex, was genuinely upset by their breakup felt good in a weird kind of way. He hadn’t been sure that night he walked out, didn’t know that Sasuke would care one way or another. Naruto now wondered just how badly he’d underestimated the depth of Sasuke’s feelings. 

The restaurant they were going to was situated in a romantic spot at the foot of a hill by a river. It was one of those garden-to-table places and they parked out next to some lettuce patch or something before walking up to the restaurant. 

Naruto looked around and then at Sasuke. “I don’t need a jacket or tie or anything, right?” He suddenly felt panicky. 

Sasuke chuckled and shook his head. “No, but you do need help. Hold still.” He came over and made Naruto bend his head so he could fix the hair Naruto had ruffled. 

It was such a warm, familiar action that Naruto found himself grinning at Sasuke while Sasuke worked. 

“Your hair has gotten unruly again,” Sasuke tisked as he worked. 

“I stopped using your fancy $40 a bottle shampoo.” Naruto laughed. 

Sasuke made a sound of annoyance but finally let Naruto stand up again. “There, that looks better. But you’ll shower with the good stuff tomorrow,” he said. 

“Okay.” Naruto grinned. 

Behind them, Itachi and Kakashi were just pulling up, Mikoto in the car with them. They all looked embarrassed. Chances were she got into the car while they were still kissing, or right when they’d been about to switch to something else. Those two needed a honeymoon, and fast.

“Let’s get inside before them.” Sasuke took Naruto’s hand and pulled him inside. 

Naruto found himself grinning still, the natural way Sasuke took his hand had felt so good. A little voice inside reminded him this was exactly the way bad things would start, but Naruto had never been good at listening to those voices. 

Dinner was delicious, and Naruto ate every bite that came within an inch of his place. He was sitting beside Sasuke, and on his other side was the Uchiha cousin who was Kakashi’s best man. Obito, Naruto reminded himself, trying to at least pretend like he was learning their names. He got the feeling that Sasuke didn’t like Obito that much, but neither of them was making a big deal about it. 

There were a few speeches during dinner, mostly thanking everyone for coming together. Naruto tried to listen as he ate all the sweet potato rolls he could reach. However, by the third speech he was mostly just wanting to get up and stretch. Sasuke put a hand on Naruto’s leg under the table and squeezed, probably to stop Naruto from wiggling. He looked at Sasuke and rolled his eyes. Sasuke gave him a firm look, pressing his lips into a thin line. Naruto relaxed, letting Sasuke win. The argument had been silent, an old familiar routine, so routine he forgot about Sasuke’s hand on his thigh until Sasuke quickly pulled his hand away. They weren’t very good at this whole thing, Naruto thought, sighing inwardly. Touching but not touching, pretending but not falling into familiarity. 

Finally, dessert was served.

“So when is your wedding?” Obito asked Naruto as they were enjoying dessert. 

Naruto just about choked on a huckleberry, caught off guard by the question. 

Several people nearby laughed and Sasuke pat Naruto’s back. “Just ignore him, he’s got like this split side of his personality where he’s just silly.” Sasuke rolled his eyes. 

“No, I’m serious.” Obito smiled. “You two have been together forever. It took Kakashi and Itachi seven years to get here. Don’t tell me it’ll be that long for you two.” 

Naruto chugged some water. He felt ice needles in his gut. It should have been a question he was prepared for. Hell, when they’d only been dating three months Mikoto hinted that Sasuke would be a good father. But for some reason, he just hadn’t been prepared for someone to ask the question about their marriage. It hurt more than he’d thought it would. 

“How are things going with you and Rin in that case?” Sasuke said around Naruto, giving his cousin a smug look. 

Obito opened his mouth and shut it again. “Fair enough.” 

Sasuke gave Naruto a small smile. Naruto smiled back and nodded, going back to enjoying his dessert. It still hurt though. Once they’d been on that path, there had been a time when Naruto thought maybe he could be marrying Sasuke by next summer. It was all in the past now. He stabbed the last bite of his dessert and sighed. 

“Okay, everyone heading out with us, we have two limos, one white for Kakashi and mine is black of course. Let’s load up!” Itachi made the final announcement and everyone heading on the respective bachelor’s parties eagerly made for the limos. 

Naruto eagerly jumped up and waited for Sasuke, but Sasuke was getting that face he got sometimes. One of the biggest learning curves for Naruto when they’d started dating was learning about the basic difference between introverts and extraverts. The face Sasuke was making now was his unhappy introvert face. 

“Should we take your car?” Naruto asked Sasuke. From the look on Sasuke’s face, he was feeling done with people and definitely didn’t want to be cramped in a car with them. 

Sasuke gave Naruto a genuine smile as he stood. “No. But I may be paying for an Uber to take us home before the night is over,” he admitted with a chuckle.

Naruto put a hand on the small of Sasuke’s back, laughing. “That sounds about right.” 

He leaned into Sasuke, eyes on his smiling lips. He loved kissing those smiles… They were rare and so good. Plus, the way Sasuke’s smiling lips felt against his own was the best. 

His face was about three inches from Sasuke when he realized he was going in for a kiss. Making a small sound of alarm, he literally jumped back, letting go of Sasuke as if he’d been burned. He was too embarrassed to look at Sasuke, to see if he’d been about to kiss back or not. Instead, he ran away. He headed to the bathroom, blushing and cursing. 

_ Shit. Fuck. Damn. _ They were only five hours into this deception and he was already slipping. The little kiss Sasuke had given him before and been just for show. However, the one Naruto had almost given him right now had been for real. He’d forgotten what they were doing here and he was just going back to his old ways, it just felt so natural and right still. Even though it wasn’t. But on some level, it must have been. 

He sighed and washed his hands in the bathroom sink. The rom-coms were right. He’d never doubt Sandra Bullock in any of her movies again. 


	5. Paintball

Sasuke had been stunned when Naruto nearly kissed him, but not nearly as stunned as when Naruto had run off after. The way Naruto had leaned in for a kiss had been a surprise, but presumably part of the act. But the way he ran away from it meant that it hadn’t been a fake kiss for the sake of appearance, but a real kiss. 

He watched Naruto run away and tried hard not to rationalize why he felt disappointed. He also tried not to think about what a real kiss would feel like after so long, not one of the little pecks they’d been doing for show, but a real Naruto kiss. Naruto had a way of kissing where he could make someone feel like the soles of their feet didn’t touch the floor. And his kisses were always personal, like he could convey emotion and love with a caress of his lips. It was only natural to feel let down on missing out on a kiss like that. Right? It must be. These were just old feelings that needed to be shaken off and ignored. They didn’t mean anything, it was just the old habit. Just like rubbing Naruto’s thigh during dinner, it had felt good, calming for Naruto as it was for Sasuke. 

It shouldn’t be too surprising that Naruto had momentarily forgotten they were only fake dating. Naruto had always been too easy going. Fighting in the morning and lovers by afternoon, it had been a pretty common thing for them. They just ran hot and cold, Sasuke had thought. Until one day Naruto broke up with him out of the blue. He frowned at the thought. Only 21 more hours until this was over. They just needed to hang in that long. It was doable. Sasuke certainly wouldn’t forget this was just pretend again. He needed to hold it together for both of them. 

He sighed and talked to people outside as he waited for his ‘date’. They both needed to take a big step back. After all, Sasuke had touched Naruto’s thigh rather casually, though it had been an innocent touch, it wasn’t something he should do to his ex. Maybe at the party they could mix it up and be around other people. Though he still thought of that annoying Obito asking questions he shouldn't. He couldn’t leave Naruto alone to face stuff like that. All it would take was one little slip-up and he’d be caught in a lie that his family would never let him live down. Though so far the plan was working, Itachi seemed oblivious and happy, just as Sasuke had planned. 

Naruto came out a few minutes later, looking perfectly relaxed, hands in his pockets and smiling. Sasuke felt better seeing him relaxed, at least they could try and continue on now. 

“Sorry to hold you up!” he called and hurried over. 

“It’s fine. Let’s go.” Sasuke took one last breath of fresh air before he was crammed in next to other people. He let Naruto climb in the car first and followed, shutting the door behind him. 

There were ten people in Itachi’s party group, and they fit well in the mid-sized limo that had been rented for tonight. Sasuke, though he was the best man, had passed on planning his brother’s party. He knew his brother too well and would just let him have a quiet night at home instead of forcing him to go out and have fun. So Kisame had taken over the planning. 

The limo had already picked up the other party-goers who weren’t part of the rehearsal dinner and they were bubbling with excitement. Sasuke climbed in and sat next to Naruto, looking around at the group. Itachi had pretty good taste in friends, most of them were Uchiha’s, which was nice.

“Okay ladies and gents,” Kisame said from his spot in the limo, happily drinking in the attention as if his bright blue hair didn’t give him enough of that. “First stop we’re doing one of Itachi’s favorite activities. I just have to warn everyone that he’s getting married tomorrow so no hits to the face.” He grinned at his teasing remark, leaving everyone wondering what they’d be doing.

They pulled up at an outdoor nighttime paintball course and Naruto started bouncing in the seat next to Sasuke. 

“Oh, this is going to rock!” Naruto said excitedly. 

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto and just hoped they had shower caps because there was no way he was getting paint in his hair. 

“It should be fun,” Sasuke said when Naruto kept giving him looks, hoping for some enthusiasm. He hadn’t been to one of these in years. Part of him watched Naruto’s excitement and wondered if they had done enough fun stuff like this when they were dating. 

Thankfully the course supplied suits they zipped up that covered their hair and the mandatory face masks. Sasuke happily suited up with all the gear. Naruto was beside him still humming with energy. 

Honestly, it was like having a giant puppy, Sasuke thought with a wry smile. Sometimes it was annoying, but usually, he loved Naruto’s over-excitement about things. It was sweet the way Naruto could work up being thrilled over little things, a bouquet of flowers, extra foam on his latte, a game of paintball. Sasuke didn’t have the emotional highs and lows Naruto did. But in a way, he thought it had made them good for each other. Naruto got him to indulge in little pleasures and Sasuke helped him from ever getting too despondent. It had been good… once. In the end, they had just been a little too different. 

He shook himself from depressing thoughts and focused on what Kisame was droning on about. They divided into two teams, Kisame and Itachi the team leaders, and called out their groups. Sasuke smirked to himself. It wasn’t fair. The way it worked out was an Uchiha family team versus everyone else. No way was their family going to lose to anyone. 

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke before grinning. Sasuke chuckled, it would be petty to use this as a chance to attack Naruto. But as he knew, he was very petty. 

They had all agreed to play several rounds of Capture The Flag, with a down-but-not-out style to keep the fun going around. When you got hit by the enemy team you could get tagged back in so nobody had to sit out for long periods theoretically. 

Sasuke grinned as he got into the field, he watched where Naruto hid. Soon as the bell sounded he shot at him, getting him square in the chest. It shouldn’t feel good, but it did. The blond made a loud groaning sound and looked around in confusion, never spotting Sasuke. 

The first time he got hit he startled and turned around, looking at Naruto waving cheekily at him. Sasuke flipped him off and sighed. He couldn’t believe that Naruto had gotten him, in the back no less. “I’ll get you back!” He promised, sitting down and waiting to be tagged back in. The war was definitely on now. 

After they’d finished playing the final score was Itachi’s team 4 to Kisame’s team 1. 

Sasuke and the other Uchiha were all feeling pretty high and mighty when they finished and stripped out of their gear. Though high and mighty was a pretty normal feeling for the Uchiha, Sasuke thought with a laugh. 

He turned and grinned at Naruto as he stepped out of his gear. It had been fun to play against him, and he’d killed Naruto only six times when he could have killed him seven times. See? He was growing. 

Naruto was happily chatting with his team, looking like he was let down but graceful about it. He saw Sasuke grin at him and he grinned back. 

“I got you at least twice!” he said happily, going over to him. 

“Yeah, yeah. I think we both know I won,” Sasuke said, walking toward him like a moth to the flame. That happy grin of Naruto’s had always held an undeniable kind of magnetism, and Sasuke couldn’t resist it anymore tonight than he had in the years and months past. 

Naruto rolled his eyes. “I was busy helping my team, in a fair fight it would be different,” he insisted. 

“I doubt it,” Sasuke said with a superior look. “You lack precision in the field.”

“I lack-!” He huffed, looking mortally offended. “Well you listen here-” Naruto glared. 

Itachi came between them, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. “Now, now, boys. You both are so competitive, I don't even want to know how you make a relationship work.” He chuckled. 

Naruto sighed and Sasuke hated how his brother hit the nail on the head. 

“You know you and Kakashi are just as bad as we are,” Sasuke pointed out.

“Not true.” Itachi shook his head. “If we were on opposite teams I think we’d go out of our way to avoid fighting each other.” He grinned happily to himself and Sasuke rolled his eyes. 

“Anyway, what’s next for your party?” Naruto smiled. “I liked the start a lot.” 

Itachi shrugged. “Not sure. I gave Kisame total freedom to plan it. For all I know it could be a bar crawl.” 

The way Itachi said ‘bar crawl’ made it very clear what he thought about that idea. Sasuke agreed with him. Though he knew Naruto wouldn’t mind the idea.

“Any idea what your groom is doing?” Sasuke asked. 

“No, and we’ve had our phones taken away so I don't have any chance of finding out.” He sulked. 

They got back in the limo and Sasuke was starting to wish he’d taken Naruto’s idea of driving his own car. It wasn’t like he didn’t like these people, but he didn’t need to sit in such a close space with all of them. 

Naruto put a hand on Sasuke’s knee, they were already sitting close enough their hips and shoulders were touching. “Just look out the window,” Naruto said softly. 

Sasuke sighed, hating that anyone could read him so well. But he did as Naruto suggested and glanced out the window. Naruto was also looking out over Sasuke’s shoulder, his breath lightly puffing against Sasuke’s hair. Another time he would have had Naruto’s arm around him, or even better, had his arms around Naruto. 

He froze in surprise when Naruto kissed his temple. Had Naruto forgotten again?

“Itachi,” Naruto said softly, his lips over Sasuke’s ear. 

Sasuke gave a small nod and turned, pressing back against Naruto as if he was relaxing against his lover. Naruto put an arm around Sasuke’s middle and held him. He remembered the first time he’d let Naruto hold him and how amazing it had felt to rest against Naruto’s warm muscular chest. In pretty much all of Sasuke’s prior relationships he’d been so tightly in control, so very much a top, he hadn’t wanted to be even held like this. But finally, after months and months of building trust with Naruto, he’d been willing to try something new. It had been one of the best afternoons of Sasuke’s life, just being held and spooned by someone he loved. That was it, the day he’d known he loved Naruto. Though he didn't say those words, he tried to show him through his trust and presents. It hadn’t been enough, ultimately. In retrospect, he should have said them, found the words and the time and the way, but he’d failed to understand how important it was. Whatever the case, he doubted he’d ever let anyone else ever hold him like this. 

The limo drove out down to the Great Lake, pulling up at a dock. There were several restaurants and a bustling nightlife. It looked like a bar crawl for sure, much to Sasuke’s annoyance. 

Naruto still looked pretty excited, gazing eagerly out of the window around Sasuke’s head. As soon as the car stopped, Sasuke quickly pulled away from Naruto. It hurt, the pretending. He hadn’t expected it, but it did and now he regretted the lengths they were going to for this charade. There were too many emotions connected with being around Naruto. And he didn’t even want to think about the pain of tomorrow. The pain of saying goodbye. Again... 

Getting out of the car, Kisame motioned them away from the flashy restaurants and up the long dock. Sasuke felt a hot stone settle in his gut and he couldn’t look at Naruto. A boat… It had to be a boat. Because of course, nothing could be easy about this. 

Kisame happily led them down the dock and did a big ‘tada’ moment, showing them a luxury yacht he’d rented for the night. 

“All aboard everyone.” He grinned. “We’ve got our own little casino, booze, cigars and everything we need for a laid back cruise.” 

The group all looked around excitedly and stepped up the gangplank. Itachi seemed delighted with the plan for the night and hugged his friend before going down below deck. 

Sasuke looked at Naruto, wondering if his ex was thinking of the last time they’d been on a boat together and if he also got a similar nervous feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> halfway through! thanks for all the kudos and comments, it's really kept me going with this. The next chapter is a big one! So please stay tuned!


	6. What Happened Then

Naruto suddenly felt way too hot in his shirt and unbuttoned the top button. Of all the places they were going to go, it had to be a boat. It had to be a boat with Sasuke. It had to be a cozy tight boat at night with Sasuke. This fake dating thing got worse and worse. A freaking trainwreck. Like The Last Airbender movie. Seriously, how had something with such a solid following gone so badly? Whatever had happened to that movie was happening here, though. 

For their one year anniversary, Sasuke had flown them out to do a bay tour on the East coast. They’d spent the whole time below deck in their room having some of the best sex of Naruto’s life. Like, the  _ best _ . For five whole days. When they’d flown home he and Sasuke had been wrung out and exhausted, but it had been oh so worth it. They’d always talked about doing another boat trip, hoping to get above deck at least once the next time, but it had never happened. 

He glanced at Sasuke and saw Sasuke looking at him and knew he knew. Naruto couldn’t help the blush that crept up from his cheeks until he was nearly the same color as his berry-colored shirt. Damn. Just being on the water, his body began to react like a well-trained dog.  _ Down boy, _ Naruto sighed. There would be no sexy times on this boat. 

“Okay everyone, the casino is below deck!” Kisame hurried everyone in and down the stairs. Naruto hung back from the group. He couldn’t go down just yet, his mind and body were both in a bit of turmoil. 

“I think I’ll stay up on deck for a bit and get some air,” he said, shaking his head at Kisame. Sasuke was by his side and looked a little surprised. 

“Okay, well the crew is all around so you two control yourselves.” Kisame laughed, assuming Sasuke would stay up as well. 

Sasuke nodded at him. He looked torn for a moment, debating whether to stay or to go. Naruto didn’t really want him to stay so he went off and leaned on the rail looking out at the water. Even though he didn’t want him to stay, he felt himself waiting, holding his breath anyway. He nearly sighed in relief when he saw Sasuke approach, standing near him and putting his hands on the railing. Sasuke took a deep breath and looked out at the lake. 

Naruto wasn’t sure why he’d stayed, but he found himself being happier about it than he should. Being near Sasuke was starting to feel normal again, the way he got the tingles, butterflies and heart palpitations. It was all coming back. It shouldn’t. Even after they’d been dating years he’d always felt fidgety and excited around Sasuke. 

There were some crew members around but otherwise, they were alone out here. Probably not the best idea, Naruto thought. But even knowing that, he didn’t move. 

“Seems to be going well,” Naruto said, looking at Sasuke, forcing some conversation. Sasuke’s features looked lovely bathed in starlight, his inky black hair blending in with the dark waters behind him. That pale skin that Sasuke took obsessive care of, seemed to almost glow in the moonlight. Naruto longed to caress that cheek and stroke that hair. 

Sasuke nodded, his eyes closed as he seemed to drink in the quiet. “I agree,” he said softly. 

Lord, he needed to stop staring at Sasuke. That luminescent skin… he could only think about how easily it marked up. Those days they’d spent on the boat and Sasuke had let him leave all the marks he wanted. Naruto looked away and unbuttoned another button of his collar. He needed to stop thinking about sex on a boat, stop thinking about how drop-dead gorgeous Sasuke was and how perfectly their bodies used to fit together. 

What was a good sobering thought? He sighed and tried to think of something recent that would help calm him down. Well, there was a pretty recent frustrating moment that got his mind on a different track. “I’m sorry about before. The kiss,” he muttered. 

“It’s fine. We’re supposed to be a couple for now anyway.” Sasuke shrugged and looked perfectly cool and indifferent. 

It was a side of Sasuke that Naruto both loved and hated. The way he was above some things, totally unruffled. Right now though, Naruto wanted to see him ruffled. It wasn’t fair that he was the only one feeling this way. Like being together again felt so good, he wanted to forget why they’d fallen apart. 

“It was different and you know it.” Naruto frowned. 

He was on the verge of doing something crazy, like purposely ruffling Sasuke’s composure. It was a bad habit and he told himself not to, but when Sasuke was all cool like this it drove him nuts. 

“Why did you break up with me? Really?” Sasuke asked. 

Naruto was taken aback by the out of the blue question and he leaned away for a moment, thinking about the answer. It was something he’d thought a lot about and it required a great deal of introspection, not his favorite thing to do. 

Two years they’d been together, things between them ran hot and cold, and Naruto always hoped for a happy middle temperature. But Sasuke was moody as hell sometimes. Naruto himself could be volatile and crazy. Between the two of them, it wasn’t going to ever be easy. It was so worth it though, the good times were so good and it’s not like they had many ‘cold’ times. Even when they fought they made up quickly. 

However, things started to crumble slowly. Sasuke couldn’t communicate emotions. Naruto’s own issue was that he couldn’t ask for the things he needed most. Instead, he’d annoy Sasuke until they fought and then during the make-up, Naruto would feel better again. They’d started a cycle that was probably not healthy. Well, it definitely wasn’t healthy. Still, Naruto and Sasuke put up with it. 

Until that night. 

He cleared his throat a few times before he tried to answer. “We had just come back from that party, remember? For Sakura?” Naruto said softly. It had been one wild night and the two of them had really let loose. 

Sasuke nodded. “We were drunk.” He frowned. The unflappable Sasuke very seldom got drunk. Naruto’s guess was because of Sasuke’s control issues, but that wasn’t important right now. 

“Yeah. You were really drunk, I was mostly drunk. Anyway, we got to our place and in the heat of the moment I asked you to marry me,” Naruto said, looking away. He didn’t want to see Sasuke’s reaction. ‘The heat of the moment’ had been during some amazingly fun dry humping and kissing. His legs had been wrapped around Sasuke’s and pinned under him, he had suddenly felt the idea pop into his head. Not the time to propose, but Naruto had just felt so sure of things at that moment.

From the sharp intake of breath though, Naruto guessed all this was news to Sasuke. 

“You did?” Sasuke asked, his voice breathy and surprised.

Naruto nodded. “Yep. It wasn’t serious, just felt right at the time,” Naruto quickly added. He didn’t want Sasuke to know that it had been deadly serious. He would have married Sasuke in a heartbeat at pretty much any point during their relationship. Just asking him had always been too unnerving before that moment. But telling him that now would hurt too much. 

Sasuke was silent so Naruto stole a little peek at his face; it was unreadable. He hadn’t expected Sasuke to say anything, but it would have been wonderful to know what he was thinking for once. Naruto sighed and kept talking. 

“Anyway, I asked you and you laughed and said no. But you didn’t stop there. You said that I was foolish if I got my hopes up for something that wouldn’t ever happen.” He looked at the boat deck, still remembering the words. His cheeks burned with embarrassment and lingering shame. Even knowing Sasuke had been drunk, it had still hurt to be that wholly rejected. It hurt even now. Naruto’s heart felt like breaking all over again as it pounded in his chest. Foolish heart. Foolish Naruto. 

They’d gone to bed pretty much right after Sasuke’s scornful remark, Sasuke sleeping the dead sleep of a drunk, and Naruto sitting awake all night. The next morning Naruto was already packed by the time Sasuke woke up. When Sasuke asked why Naruto had his things packed up, his voice oh so cool and even-tempered that Naruto had hated it. Naruto told him point-blank they had no future together and so he was leaving. Sasuke’s response had been to throw up emotional walls and look coldly at Naruto. He wished him well and went to make eggs, pretending like Naruto had already left. Naruto had been flabbergasted. He’d expected Sasuke to do something, to try and stop him. But he hadn’t. The silence had said everything Naruto needed to know. 

Sasuke didn’t waste a breath before he growled. “I was drunk, very drunk as you said. You can’t dump me for something I said at that point!” Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s shirt and balled it in his fist, drawing them face to face. Sasuke’s eyes were burning with anger. “That’s crazy! You were kinda drunk, too! What if you didn’t understand me right? I was clearly talking out of my ass so why did you listen? How could you dump me for that?!” 

Naruto leaned away from him, back on the railing of the ship. He glared at Sasuke as he got up in his face. “I didn't dump you just for that. But even if I had, why didn’t you stop me?” Naruto challenged. “The next day when I said we didn’t have a future why didn’t you make  _ any _ effort to convince me otherwise?! You just let me walk away.” 

“Because letting you go is what one is supposed to do!” Sasuke glared. “I let you go because you wanted to go. If my lover wants to leave me, I’m not going to grovel and beg and plead.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know all about your damn pride. Well, my pride wouldn’t let me stay with someone who thought I was a joke, who thought marriage to me was a joke.” He grabbed Sasuke’s shirt as well, shaking him a little. 

“I don’t think that! Not really!” Sasuke shook his head. “You probably just surprised me. Or said it funny. I don't know. But I never would say marriage to you was a joke,” he insisted. 

Naruto frowned. “How was I to ever know any different, though? Even if you didn’t want to marry me. Not once in two years did you say you loved me. Was it any wonder I left you when you couldn’t even decide if you wanted me?” 

Sasuke clenched his shirt tighter and pushed him against the railing angrily. “Why didn’t you ever say how important it was to hear that? I did everything I could to show you how I felt. I got closer to you than I have to anyone else in my life. I don't fit your rules for a relationship? Well, too bad. I was trying as hard as I could. It’s not my fault you couldn’t accept that.” 

“Then whose fault is it? How could I just come out and beg you to tell me you loved me, ask that you beg me to stay? That would have been pathetic. I needed more, but I didn’t know how to ask any more than you knew how to say it. All I want to know at this point is why did the best thing in my life have to end like that?” Naruto demanded before shaking him off and storming away, afraid he was going to start crying. 

Stupid Sasuke. The rejection of Naruto’s marriage proposal burned in his ears all over again. But even worse was the silence the next day, the refusal to argue. Sasuke sure wanted to argue now, he thought as he rubbed the wrinkles on the front of his shirt from Sasuke’s fists. Too bad it was two months too late. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> deep breaths... whew. Okay. The big fight and reveal. How did it go? Don't worry, there are more chapters coming and Sasuke will get a chance to react of course.


	7. Gambling and Bourbon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I'd like to say how I hope everyone is safe and healthy during these crazy times, please take care of yourselves fam. 
> 
> Second, and I'm about to get a little soap boxy, I'd like to talk about comments. I LIVE for comments and I was loving this story because I was getting so many and so many thoughtful ones. Then came the last chapter and this story nearly died. I had it all written up and I almost didn't post anything else with it. I LOVE (I really do) all the comments I got, I love that you all felt so strongly about the story and reacted to it. That's what a good story should do!  
> But I got a little lost. It started to feel like the comments were people who didn't like the story or who didn't want to know what happened next. And as a fanfiction writer, you'll probably think I should have tougher skin, but this is supposed to be for fun. And it wasn't fun at that point for me. I felt like nothing I wrote for the rest of this story mattered, people already hated my version of the characters.  
> Thankfully, I had time and space to decide that I was going to move forward. My lovely beta shades_of_cool helped me so much and we worked on expanding what I already had written to go next. So, here I am, back with the last few chapters. I promise I won't vanish on you again.  
> I suppose the reason I am putting this here at the top and getting long-winded is to ask that for not just my sake, but other writers, please always leave comments, but make sure the writer knows that you might be mad at the moment, might not understand the characters, but you actually want more story, actually don't hate the writer.  
> Thanks everyone for reading this. And without further ado, we have the next chapter.

Sasuke stood there, staring after him, again, and felt totally drained. He was angry and sad and so very very… wounded. His heart felt like it had been ripped out of him all over again. All this was because of some stupid thing he said when he was drunk? He slammed a fist on the railing. 

He thought back to that morning, what had happened. He’d woken up on the sofa, feeling more hungover than usual and horribly embarrassed that he didn't remember the night before. Sasuke had sat up and looked around him, seeing Naruto grumpily grabbing his things. 

_ “What are you doing?” Sasuke had tried to be calm about it, but his heart started racing. Naruto never picked up, it wasn’t like him at all to be cleaning.  _

_ “I’m leaving!” Naruto shouted, his words hitting Sasuke like a ton of bricks, and not just because Sasuke was hungover.  _

_ He watched him, not sure how to reply but his mind was going a mile a minute. What had happened? Why was Naruto doing this? Did he really want to break up? Was that what he meant? A thousand scenarios passed through his mind as he watched Naruto run around, shoving his things into bags.  _

_ Sasuke made himself some breakfast, trying to calm himself down. Naruto was probably just in a tizzy about something silly. He just needed to be calmed down and then they could settle this. Maybe food would make Naruto feel like talking.  _

_ But Naruto just looked at Sasuke like he’d grown a second head or something while he cooked. Sasuke put down the pan of eggs and sighed. Okay, new approach.  _

_ “Why are you doing this?” he asked calmly, trying to at least slow the pounding of his own heart.  _

_ “We don’t have any future together!” Naruto practically screamed.  _

_ Sasuke drew back. He couldn’t believe he was hearing Naruto actually saying that. He looked at him, scanning Naruto’s face. This was real. Naruto was really breaking up with him. Sasuke felt his heart starting to break. There was only one big, painful heap of shards where the inside of his chest used to be. But if Naruto wanted to go… He wasn’t going to stop him. Loving was letting go. That was the phrase everyone touted. So Sasuke pulled himself together and went back to fixing his eggs.  _

_ Naruto made little huffing sounds as he stomped around but didn’t try to say anything else as he packed. Sasuke carefully kept his eyes on his food. He didn’t want to have to watch this. The whole world felt like it was caving in on him and he just wanted it to stop. But for once, he didn’t know what to say or do to make it happen.  _

_ Then the door slammed and it was over. Sasuke was alone. _

Sasuke punched the railing again.  Naruto seemed all gung-ho about blaming Sasuke for everything. Well, Sasuke was more than willing to blame Naruto for all this in return. If he’d been so badly wanting a fight that next morning he should have said so! Conventional wisdom maintained that if you care for someone, you let them go. So that’s what Sasuke had done. It was what he’d wanted, or at least what he’d made Sasuke  _ believe  _ he’d wanted. If Naruto had been pining for hearing ‘I love you’ then he should have said so. He should have used his words. But he never did. Instead, he’d been waiting for a grand confession like a damn movie, hoping it would all be better in a moment. 

“Manipulative. That’s what he is!” Sasuke growled to himself. Though to be fair, Sasuke wasn’t much better. He liked to pick on Naruto and get him riled up just for the pleasure of helping wind him down.  Just like teasing him about his clothes, getting Naruto all hot and bothered, then buying him new things and spoiling him sweetly because he didn’t want to admit he just wanted to buy Naruto gifts from the start.  That was pretty bad, too when he looked at it from afar. He frowned. Honestly, they were probably evenly matched for who was at fault. 

Why had he laughed? He wished he remembered that night better. After leaving the party, he vaguely remembered the taxi ride home, but after that? It was a blank, which was embarrassing to admit. This is exactly why he didn’t drink to excess; too much weird shit happened.  He needed to be in control of things, needed to always be on his guard, and always think things out. Otherwise, he was left in situations like this.  Maybe he could explain away the laugh if he tried, but those words… it sounded more than a little cruel. It was horrible. And Naruto wouldn’t have made up something like that. No. Sadly it did sound like something Sasuke would say. Except it wasn’t, because he didn’t feel that way, so why the hell would he have said that? 

He frowned and thought about it. It had been fear, probably. He hated commitment. Letting Naruto move in had been the biggest commitment he’d made to a partner in years. If Naruto had proposed to Sasuke when he was drunk… it was possible he said the most negative thing possible just to make it stop. That didn’t make it any better, but he could almost understand himself. If only he’d known he’d done that, he wouldn’t have hesitated to apologize, pride or no. He would have made sure Naruto knew that it wasn’t true. Though for the life of him, he couldn’t think of what his answer would have been. 

If loving was letting go, then why did he feel so fucking miserable about it? 

“Fuck me.” Sasuke sighed and bent over the rail, watching the water splash against the ship. 

He shouldn’t have brought up the breakup, asking about it had been a bad idea. The question had been burning in his mind though, especially on this stupid boat that forced him to think about their past together. It was too late now to fix things between them anyway, so there was no point in rehashing it. But he hadn’t been able to resist. He’d wanted to know. Needed to know. 

After about ten minutes of pushing everything deep down where it belonged, he felt like he had control over himself again. He forced himself to straighten out his shirt and went down below deck to the party. 

Below deck, there was already a lot of laughter and the smell of smoke, though there was a good venting system so it wasn’t overly smokey. Naruto was playing roulette, cheeks flushed, and shirt wrinkled from Sasuke’s fists, but otherwise looking normal. Sasuke walked past him and went to play poker with his brother. 

Sasuke started to drink, which wasn’t the answer, but it felt damn good as he sipped the expensive bourbon. He played poker for a while before wandering around some of the other tables. Naruto was always one table ahead of him, always out of reach. Which was good. Of course. No more run-ins with Naruto tonight seemed like the best plan. How they’d sleep together tonight, God only knew. 

Aside from avoiding Sasuke, Naruto seemed to be having fun, laughing, and grinning with everyone. His blond hair looked fluffy and messy again. Sasuke longed to take him aside and fix it, running his fingers through those golden strands. Even from afar he loved watching Naruto’s smile, loved feeling it like sunshine on his skin. He wanted that smile directed at him, only for him. Of course, it was wrong. Sasuke had no right to Naruto’s smiles, but he couldn’t help longing for them anyway. 

He sighed again. Loving wasn’t letting go. At least it wasn’t in this instance. He realized that now, as he watched Naruto from afar, longing to be the one that all of Naruto’s attention was focused on. No, he should have made sure that Naruto knew. Knew how much he’d loved him. Then let him go if that’s what needed to happen. But he hadn’t. In Sasuke’s eagerness to find his own sense of calm and understanding that morning he hadn’t considered what Naruto needed. He’d let his lover down. All Naruto had wanted was something  _ more _ … and yes, it was hard for Sasuke to show his feelings. But he could have done something  _ more _ . A hand reaching out, a look, a gesture might have been enough. He could have at least tried. But instead, Sasuke had been a fool and just let that ray of sunshine that was Naruto slip through his fingers. 

He tried to get closer to Naruto, watching him always. It was too late to fix the past. But hopefully, they could make the past a bit easier to bear. 

Finally, Sasuke managed to get Naruto alone, after approaching him with serious intent. Naruto’s eyes flashed around for an easy escape, but he was backed into a literal corner, and so he resorted to crossing his arms. 

“What do you want? I’m avoiding you,” he whispered. He wasn’t a very good whisperer, which had always been annoying as it had been endearing. 

“I want to tell you that we both suck at relationships,” Sasuke said. It was far blunter than he’d intended. He blamed the bourbon. 

Naruto looked surprised but nodded. “Yeah, I guess.” 

“Neither of us can change what happened.” Sasuke sighed. Naruto’s last words about how their relationship had been the best thing in his life rang in Sasuke’s mind. It had been the same for him. There was no point in wishing he could turn back the clock, but he still wished he could.

“I suppose not.” Naruto sighed as well, looking glum. 

It was on the tip of Sasuke’s tongue to tell him he’d change things if he could, but he bit it off. There was no point. “Look, I think we both have regrets and we’re just going to have to live with that.” 

“Gee, thanks.” Naruto rolled his eyes, but then he nodded. “Sorry if I made it seem like it was all on you. It’s not, and I know that. I just haven’t wanted to admit it.” 

It wasn’t a super rousing endorsement, but it was nice to hear. “I’m just glad I know at last what happened.” 

Naruto nodded and then looked at him, seeming to be waiting for something. He leaned into Sasuke a little, looking expectant. 

Sasuke gave him a curious look in return. Were they supposed to hug or something? Agreeing that you mutually sabotaged your relationship didn’t seem like a ‘hug it out’ moment. 

Naruto puckered his lips a little as he leaned into Sasuke a little more, but then rolled his eyes and pulled back. “Nevermind. I’m avoiding you again,” he scoffed and slipped away. 

Sasuke’s eyes widened. Had Naruto thought that it really was a kiss and make up? He thought they were just kind of… addressing the past and agreeing to move on. 

He frowned and went back to drinking, again getting annoyed that Naruto was running from him. 

Sasuke sat to play cards with his brother, trying to figure out Naruto. As usual. He hated this, watching Naruto keep out of reach and avoiding him. It was their last night together; after this, they’d have to go their separate ways. Was this really going to be the way he remembered Naruto? The distant ray of sun that slipped through his fingers? Or for old times sake, would he reach out and grab him just once more? Apparently Naruto was game for that, so why not? What could go wrong with one more time?

“You’ve got a funny look on your face, brother,” Itachi said, dealing him some cards.

“Do I?” Sasuke said, drawing his attention back to the game once more. 

Itachi nodded and glanced over at Naruto a table away. “Like something isn’t going according to your plan so you’re going to do something extreme.” 

Sasuke felt very alert suddenly. He didn’t want his brother picking up signals of discord between them. “I don’t do stuff like that,” he scoffed, looking at his cards. 

“Oh yes, you do.” Itachi chuckled. “You have since you were little. Remember when you decided the only way to get better at your lessons was to run away and learn them outside of school?” 

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “I was like twelve.” 

“Well, you have that same look right now, but you’re directing it at Naruto. Is it because he won’t play with you?” Itachi asked. 

Sasuke had to fight not to look over at Naruto. “We don’t have to spend every second attached at the hip.” He really wished Naruto wasn’t avoiding him right now. 

Itachi smiled. “Of course not, but you’re wishing you would be attached. Right? I know. I’m the same way.” 

Sasuke felt a flood of relief. If it just looked like simple longing, perhaps they wouldn’t be found out. He looked at his brother and chuckled. “You’re buzzed.” 

“Hell yes, I am.” Itachi laughed. “Just take it from me and understand that grand gestures don’t have to be as extreme as running away. Sometimes the grandest thing is a small gesture.” 

Sasuke sighed.  “Where were you with that news flash about a year ago?” 

Itachi chuckled. “It’s never too late to start trying.”

Sasuke got up from the table, folding in his cards. “If you say so, big brother.” He needed to spend time away from Itachi. Even drunk, his brother could still sniff out relationship issues. 

Sasuke spent the rest of the night arguing with Obito, which was equal parts fun and frustrating. Somewhere the clock was chiming 2 am, and the ship headed back to the dock, their night of fun over. Everyone looked disappointed and ordered one more drink, or tried to squeeze in one more game. 

Sasuke watched Naruto get up, asking where the second bathroom was. The lightweight Izumi was being sick in the main bathroom. Naruto got his directions from a crew member and Sasuke watched him go. 

His talk with his brother had cooled his fires somewhat, but then arguing with Obito got them going again. Extreme gestures, huh? Well, this was pretty extreme. But it wasn’t a gesture of any kind. It was something he needed to do. Only he knew he shouldn’t. But he couldn’t stop himself. He slid the ice around in his empty glass for a minute before getting up and following. 

He slipped down the passageway quickly.  _ This is a bad idea _ , he thought to himself. Nothing about this would end well. What he and Naruto had was over, it would never come back. But this wasn’t about then, this was about now. And right now, Naruto was avoiding him and sulking and being frustrating. All that combined made Sasuke unable to resist doing just one thing, if only he could make it happen in time. 

He passed Shisui comforting Izumi and helping her back from the first bathroom, and he quickly hurried to catch Naruto at the second bathroom.  _ This is a  _ horrible _ idea _ , he corrected his earlier thought. However, with some alcohol in his veins, the pessimist side of him wasn’t in control anymore. Instead, he was going to do what he wanted and face the consequences later. Like Naruto. Oh, Lord. Is that what he’d come to?

He waited outside the closed door, trying hard not to think anymore. 

Naruto opened the door, surprised to see Sasuke standing so close. “Sorry,” he said, turning to the side, trying to make room in the narrow passage. 

“Me too,” Sasuke said, grabbing Naruto’s wrinkled shirt and shoving him back into the bathroom. 

Naruto gasped, easily pushed back and pinned against the wall with a mirror. Sasuke looked up at him, always resentful that Naruto was just that touch taller than he was. He kissed him roughly, possessively, hungrily, as if it was their last kiss. Which, by all rights, it should be. 

He wanted to taste him and he did, under the rum Naruto drank, there was the taste of Naruto. The perfect way he groaned, his rough catlike tongue, his unsteady breathing––it was all so familiar and perfect. Naruto’s hands hung at his side but after a moment he grabbed the back of Sasuke’s shirt, holding him tight and kissing back. 

It felt so good, so damn good to have him back, to be in each other’s arms. A tight coil of heat sparked low in Sasuke’s body. He wasn’t going to be satisfied with just a kiss. He wanted all of Naruto, needed to feel him again. Naruto’s scent hit him, sending a wave of longing through him. Crisp apples, cinnamon, and a sunny day, it was the best smell in the world and Naruto had no idea of the effect it had on Sasuke. He wanted to bottle it up and save that scent forever. He wanted to roll around naked with Naruto until he smelled exactly the same. He wanted… so much.

“You and your damn movies,” Sasuke complained, stepping away from him, breaking out of his arms. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t just give in to these feelings, but Naruto’s romantic silly movies proved him wrong. Fake dating had been the worst idea he’d ever had. 

Naruto looked utterly stunned as Sasuke stepped away, then his face screwed up in confusion as he tried to reason out what Sasuke said. 

Sasuke left him there to reason it all out on his own and hurried out of the bathroom. He ran past his brother, just hoping he wouldn’t figure out why Sasuke was all flushed and frowning. One thing about this whole awful thing needed to work out at least. But at this point he doubted it was worth it anymore. His heart pounded in his chest and he started to wish he’d just told them all about the breakup. 

He rushed off the boat first, glad to be back on solid ground. Though squeezing back in the limo didn’t seem like a lot of fun, he climbed in quickly. Naruto followed him. He still had a slightly stunned expression and stared blankly ahead of himself, not looking at Sasuke again. Sasuke’s stomach started doing cartwheels, angry about the amount of bourbon he’d drank. Yes, it was the bourbon, not the proximity of his ex-boyfriend. 

They dropped off the rest of the wedding party at their various hotels before going back to the house. Itachi practically bolted out of the car, probably wanting to get on the phone with his fiancé as soon as possible. Or with any luck, Kakashi would already be in bed waiting for Itachi to get inside. 

Sasuke stepped out and headed up to his room with a sigh, assuming Naruto would follow. He knew once they got to the room, one of two things would happen. One, Naruto would ignore the kiss and Sasuke would sleep in the window seat. Or two, Naruto would launch into some babbling tirade about the kiss and then Sasuke would make sure there would be no sleeping at all. Sasuke wasn’t sure which one he wanted more. It would be safer to sleep in the window seat. But since this was their last night… he was half sure that they should make it one to remember. 


	8. What I Hate About You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can guess I titled this chapter after the best fake dating movie of all time! Hope you all enjoy.

Naruto entered Sasuke’s room, finding that his palms were sweating. After the kiss on the boat, he wasn’t sure what would happen. That had been one hell of a kiss. Like in Empire Strikes Back. But without the imprisonment of one of them afterward. If Han hadn’t been imprisoned they would have totally boned after. Maybe that’s what Sasuke had in mind, too. 

Sasuke gave him a look when he walked into the room, not a come hither, but more like a ‘what the hell are you thinking about’ look.

“I won’t attack you again, you can relax,” Sasuke said, opening his suitcase. 

“I wasn’t worried!” Naruto insisted, though his voice squeaked. 

Sasuke laughed and pulled out some PJs. “It was the bourbon. I’m better now,” he said with a soothing tone. 

But instead of being assured, Naruto got annoyed. “So I’m only good enough to kiss when drunk?” he demanded. It was a little insulting, right? 

Sasuke looked up in surprise. “That’s not… Do you want me to attack you?” he asked curiously. 

“Of course,” Naruto snorted, wasn’t it obvious? Sex with Sasuke had always been next level amazing. Who in their right mind would turn down an attack by Sasuke? “But you shouldn’t.” He held up his hands to stop Sasuke, who’d already started walking closer. 

Sasuke frowned and crossed his arms. “Make up your mind.” 

“What about you? Do you really think jumping in bed together is a good idea?” Naruto asked. 

“Well… No. It sounds like one of the crazy things you said would happen,” Sasuke admitted. But he had considered it, and for a moment Naruto’s heart pounded louder. 

Naruto nodded, trying to think of a way to back down from this point. Anything to stop the rising heat in his body and the longing that had gone from a dim flame to a roaring fire. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do, list everything you don't like about me and I’ll do the same about you!” he suggested, thinking of course of 10 Things I Hate About You, the best fake relationship movie.

Sasuke blinked a few times in surprise. “That sounds dumb.” 

Naruto smiled. “See? This is already working. We’ll just get all annoyed with each other and totally forget about sex.” 

“This is another thing from your movies, isn't it? You really need to read more books.” Sasuke sighed. 

“I hate how you don’t ever give my ideas enough credit,” Naruto said, undeterred. This was a good plan. Anything that got rid of that desire that Sasuke had lit inside of Naruto was a good plan. 

Sasuke raised a dark eyebrow. “I’m not doing this with you. We already had two fights today and we don’t need another.” 

“I hate how guarded you always are, even when it’s just us and you have nothing to lose.” Naruto pointed out, knowing how to egg him on. 

Sasuke pressed his lips into a thin line and glared a little. “I hate how you are always pushing me, then it’s my fault when I get upset and lash out.” 

Naruto scoffed, “Yeah, well, I hate your stupid pride. Seriously. Give it a rest.” He smiled smugly. It actually felt good to say it out loud.

“I hate the way you just jump to conclusions and don't wait for all the facts,” Sasuke said. 

“I hate how you always talk like you can read my mind but when it comes to it, you can’t,” Naruto said sulkily. 

“I hate it when you pout.” Sasuke stepped closer. 

Naruto smiled a little, unable to keep sulking when Sasuke pointed it out. He stepped back for more space between them, but the door was behind him and he couldn’t go anywhere. He pressed against the wood and felt a little thrill that surprised him. “I hate your pouting more.” 

Sasuke smiled a little as well. That lazy catlike smile that said he knew Naruto was cornered again. “I hate how you’re taller than me,” Sasuke said, his chin lifting to look up as he came closer. 

Naruto’s mouth suddenly felt dry. The way Sasuke had so confidently stalked closer, it was doing the opposite of putting out the fire. If anything, it was fanning the flames. 

“I hate the way you kiss and run,” Naruto said, not really sure what he was talking about anymore. 

“Liar,” Sasuke smirked, one hand on the door next to Naruto’s shoulder. 

Naruto’s belly flip-flopped. Sasuke had promised he wouldn’t attack him again, so that meant Naruto had to make the next step. He started racking his brain for something, anything, he hated about Sasuke. However, at the moment all he could think of were all the things he didn’t hate about him. The things he’d missed, the things he wanted to do differently if he had the chance. 

“I hated those months apart…” Naruto’s voice was unsteady. 

Sasuke’s smirk softened a little. “Honestly? I don’t really have anything I ‘hate’ about you.” He looked up at Naruto, his dark eyes seemed open and vulnerable for maybe the first time ever. 

There was no way Naruto could resist that expression. He put his hands on Sasuke’s shoulders and closed his eyes, kissing him. The kiss should have been gentle and sweet, but the frenzy that Sasuke had started things with before carried over now. Naruto gripped Sasuke’s designer shirt, kissing him for all he was worth and was relieved when Sasuke kissed back just as intensely. 

He bit Sasuke’s silky lip, loving the way he groaned. Sliding his fingers into Sasuke’s hair, he gave it a not so gentle tug as his fingers tangled in the soft strands. Sasuke groaned in annoyance against his mouth, starting some biting and nipping of his own, trying to take control of the kiss. He hated having his hair messed up and Naruto knew it, he also knew Sasuke’s reaction was to become more aggressive, something they both liked. 

Sasuke grumbled and looked at him, the tender look in his eyes gone and replaced with pure unadulterated heat. He grabbed the front of Naruto’s shirt. 

“Cheap fabric. I taught you better.” He scoffed before he ripped it open. The poorly sewn buttons flew off and Naruto could only chuckle as he was left shirtless in no time. 

“My mistake.” He grinned and claimed Sasuke’s mouth again. 

_ Oh right, _ he realized as he felt Sasuke’s tongue sliding against his,  _ the ‘I hate you’ game had this sort of outcome as well. _ He smiled and shrugged, starting to carefully unbutton Sasuke’s expensive shirt. How much of a bad idea could this be if it felt this good? And thankfully they weren’t trapped in a PG-13 movie. 

In fact, it was definitely not a PG-13 movie as Sasuke slipped off his pants and underwear, giving Naruto a chance to admire his body. Naruto often wondered if Sasuke was one of those statues come to life, his body a set of perfect proportions, curves, and angles that came together in one consummate package. 

Sasuke didn’t give him long to admire his package or his  _ package _ because he was stripping Naruto of his own clothes. Thankfully, he used the buttons and zippers this time. Naruto smiled and kissed Sasuke’s long neck, tasting that spot just above his shoulder where he loved to leave marks. 

“You have ten seconds to get your ass on my bed,” Sasuke panted, pulling away and sliding out of his socks last. 

Naruto didn’t hesitate. He made a mad dash for the bed. When Sasuke said ten seconds, he meant ten seconds. 

Sasuke chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed, turning away to dig in the drawers. “Where the hell did I leave the stuff?” He sighed as he rummaged. 

Naruto scooted up close, putting an arm around Sasuke and kissing his neck again. He could taste the smoke and cologne on Sasuke’s skin; he couldn’t resist taking a bite. Sasuke groaned, his whole body going stiff and then relaxing, pressing himself back against Naruto. 

Feeling emboldened, Naruto ran his hands over Sasuke, caressing him with rough fingers from his jaw down across his collarbone, over his dusky hard nipples, and over the plane of his stomach. 

“Naruto…” Sasuke whimpered his name, reaching behind him to tug on Naruto’s hair. 

Naruto pulled his mouth away, having left a sizable mark, and licked the bruised skin. 

“I can’t…” Sasuke panted, turning and giving Naruto a lustful look. “Foreplay after sex,” he said.

Naruto grinned, he couldn’t recall Sasuke ever saying that. This guy loved foreplay more than sex. Or so he’d thought. “Okay.” He let go of Sasuke and rolled onto his stomach on the bed. He grinned happily as he offered his ass to Sasuke. It was hard to believe he was going to feel all those wonderful things again. 

Sasuke tapped his shoulder and forced him up, however. “Not this time, blondy. You’re going on top,” he said, his cheeks red. 

Naruto sat back on his heels and watched Sasuke with a confused expression on his face while Sasuke laid out on his back, spreading his legs. 

“But you usually-” 

Sasuke sighed and squeezed some lube into his hands, turning redder. “Yeah, well, not this time.” 

Naruto was confused, but he wasn’t going to question his luck. If anything he was even more excited than he had been. Chances to top his boyfriend were few and far between.  _ Ex-boyfriend,  _ a little voice reminded Naruto, but Naruto was SO not listening. He leaned forward and kissed Sasuke, moving between Sasuke’s sweet creamy thighs. 

Knowing he was going to top him, Naruto didn’t hesitate to press Sasuke into the mattress, asserting a kind of dominance over the moment. Surprisingly, Sasuke, who usually fought him, groaned and put one arm around Naruto’s shoulders, letting Naruto do as he liked for now.

“Gimme the lube, I’ll do it,” Naruto said against Sasuke’s lips, smiling at him. 

Sasuke blushed more, the red of his cheeks now spreading down his neck until his entire shoulder area was also blushing. “I can do it myself,” he insisted. 

Naruto gave him another curious look but let Sasuke do what he wanted. He took his revenge by biting Sasuke’s neck, not caring if it was below the collar or not. 

Sasuke groaned, moving his arm down between them, panting in Naruto’s ear as he started fingering himself. It was a delicious torment to listen to the slick sounds of Sasuke fingering himself, feeling Sasuke’s arm and wrist moving, the way his thighs started to tremble, but to be detached from it. Naruto moaned against Sasuke’s neck and sucked one of his delicate earlobes. 

He gave Sasuke several more marks before he couldn’t take it anymore and kissed him, groaning into his mouth. 

“I could help…” he nearly whimpered. 

“I’m ready,” Sasuke said, pulling his fingers away and wiping them on the sheets. 

“Are you sure?” Naruto asked, worried he’d rushed him. Sasuke bottomed so seldom, it usually took a little longer to stretch him out. 

Sasuke blushed and nodded. He turned his face into the pillow next to him. “You left all your toys at home…” He let the silence fill in the rest. 

Naruto stared down at him in surprise while he figured out that Sasuke had been playing with himself all these months, with  _ Naruto’s toys _ . He needed more details for sure, which toys? How often? The night before tonight? Did he even try that one with the attachments? Cause that was pretty freaking crazy…

“If you say anything,” Sasuke reached up and pinched Naruto’s lips together, “you can go take a cold shower and forget about this,” Sasuke said clearly. “Now put a goddamn condom on and fuck me,” he ordered before he let go of Naruto’s mouth. 

Naruto pouted for an instant, but looking down at Sasuke, he didn’t have any doubt what he was going to do. Sasuke all flushed, his hair mussed, panting and looking about half wrecked was too irresistible. 

He reached for the condoms that Sasuke had pulled out before, and with fumbling fingers, rolled one on himself. Sasuke was doing the same, his normally calm actions hurried and frustrated as he put a condom on himself. He hated getting all gross and had always insisted on both of them wearing one. Naruto smiled and leaned down to kiss him again, gasping in surprise when Sasuke bit his tongue. 

“I want you…” Sasuke said, bringing his legs around Naruto, urging him on. 

“God damn, I want you so bad,” Naruto echoed, lining himself up with Sasuke’s slick hole. 

Sasuke held onto Naruto’s hair, pulling him in for another kiss, groaning in pleasure as Naruto sank into him in one smooth thrust. Naruto was glad they were kissing because it helped muffle the cry he made as Sasuke’s body welcomed him with just the barest touch of sweet resistance. 

Naruto started thrusting, feeling more urgent than ever. He wanted to touch and be touched, wrapped up entirely with the person he wanted more than any other. 

Sasuke’s other hand was on Naruto’s ass, his nails in his flesh and scratching him as he urged him on. 

“Fuck, I missed you,” Naruto groaned, sucking one of Sasuke’s nipples. 

Sasuke only managed a moan as a reply, his thighs squeezing him. 

Naruto gripped Sasuke’s hips, shifting their angle, trying to remember the best ways to please his lover. Sasuke looked up at him, a little teasing smile on his lips. He certainly wasn’t giving anything away, it all felt good no matter what they did. 

Suddenly though, Sasuke’s smirk vanished and his mouth turned to a perfect O, his spine arched and he pressed his body to Naruto more. 

“Oh, fuck, Naruto, yes!” Sasuke cried out breathlessly. His whole body shivered against Naruto in delight. 

Naruto grinned and pounded him at that angle, thrusting fast, groaning as Sasuke’s insides twitched around him. 

“I’m not going to last.” Sasuke shivered, the look in his eyes was wild and made Naruto groan in satisfaction. 

He nodded and kept thrusting, close as well. Sasuke reached for Naruto, pulling him back for one more kiss, intertwining their fingers and squeezing his hand. Sasuke and Naruto came together, both of them doing their best to smother their cries with the other person’s mouth. 

Naruto groaned and pulled away after a minute. He was panting for breath and grinning until he was sure his face would hurt tomorrow. Sasuke was totally wrecked, in fact, Naruto had never seen a more beautiful side of Sasuke than he was seeing now. 


	9. Dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AO3 is having some email errors but I didn't want to let you all down so I'm posting and I hope the notification goes out anyway!

Sasuke looked up at the altogether too happy Naruto. Why, the guy was positively walking on air and gloating, knowing it had been a 10 out of 10 session. Sasuke would love to knock him down a peg. In fact, he would. As soon as he caught his breath. For now, he gave the brute a shove and rolled him onto his side so they were both lying down side by side. Their hands were still clasped. Sasuke gently ran his fingers over Naruto’s hand. 

“Sasuke…” Naruto smiled and kissed Sasuke’s shoulder. 

Humming softly, Sasuke turned and looked at him. Naruto was so sweet. There wasn’t any sign of worry or doubt creeping into his mind yet, he was still just happy to be together. Sasuke wished he could have more of that in himself. 

Sasuke sat up and peeled his condom off, throwing it away and doing the same for Naruto. He would never be one of those guys who liked messy cum everywhere. Sex had enough exchange of bodily fluids without adding more to the mix. 

Naruto watched him with interest, total trust in his baby blue eyes. Even the hardest heart would melt when confronted with that look. And Sasuke had far from the hardest heart. In fact, his heart was feeling very fragile and soft at the moment, finally out of its shell after having been torn to shreds. It beat madly for Naruto behind Sasuke’s ribs, every sweet smile made his heart swell more.

“Maybe it was a mistake, breaking up-” Naruto started to say. 

Sasuke quickly silenced him with a kiss. He couldn’t, not now, not in this moment. It wasn’t the kind of decision to make when you were all happy with afterglow. 

After a few more attempts to speak, Naruto gave up and lost interest, kissing back eagerly. 

Sasuke smiled and rolled on top of Naruto. “Now it’s your turn. I’ll show you how it’s really done,” he teased. Sex was easy. He could manage sex. It was when his heart made those hopeful leaps that things got messy. 

If he let himself, Sasuke would spend the rest of the night worrying over what had happened. Or, he could actually take another page from Naruto’s book and enjoy what they had, for now, letting tomorrow come without preparing himself for it. 

Naruto scoffed at Sasuke’s teasing, “Yeah right. That was five-star sex and you know it.” But when Sasuke pressed a knee between Naruto’s legs, Naruto parted them without hesitation. 

“We’ll see,” Sasuke smirked, kissing him again. He knew one thing for certain, he’d never tire of kissing those lips.

* * *

Morning came and Sasuke slipped out of the bed. His legs wobbled a little as he headed for the shower. They’d barely slept, he and Naruto had been up until dawn, indulging after months of abstinence. 

The shower felt amazing after they’d been too tired last night to manage to make it to the shower. Which meant they’d just fallen asleep in the sweaty sheets and slept like barbarians. He shuddered in the shower and turned the heat up, making sure to scrub extra good to make up for it. 

As he showered, Sasuke’s mind started waking from the fog of lust and he couldn’t believe he’d fallen into the movie trap like Naruto had suggested. The things they had said and done last night, it was insane. Had those three months apart taught Sasuke nothing? This relationship would only end in pain for both of them. Hadn’t they proved they couldn’t make it work?

Sure, it felt good right now, how could it not? It felt great being together and feeling old... things. Hell, there were new things, too; he wanted to play paintball with him again, wanted to take him out to that restaurant again, and feed him dessert. However, at the end of the day he just wasn’t an optimistic enough person to indulge in the hope it could work. In another month or so they’d regret trying again, and it would hurt worse and they’d be even more broken. No good. Better to quit now on a high note before anyone got hurt. 

He cleaned himself up and got dressed, watching Naruto still asleep in the room that smelled of sex and strawberry-scented lubricant. There were a few hours before Naruto had to be up, so Sasuke left him to sleep. It would be easier if they were apart anyway. They both had jobs to do today and Sasuke needed to focus. Right now, Naruto was very very bad for his focus. 

Sasuke quickly got busy downstairs where there was a lot to do. He barely had time to think about his issues with Naruto as he ran around, helping get the wedding underway. 

Naruto finally came down right before it was time for guests to arrive. He was wearing his tux, but his tie wasn’t done. He looked amazing though, six feet two of pure blond hunk dressed in a $1200 suit. Nobody could resist that. The wobble in Sasuke’s knees was totally natural. Sasuke saw him tugging at the tie and went over to help him get it on properly. 

Naruto’s eyes lit up when he saw Sasuke, and he obediently held out his tie for help. But then he frowned a little, his eyebrows drawing together as Sasuke stood close to him. 

“Sasuke,” he said softly, looking around at all the people. It was clear he wanted to talk. And knowing him, Sasuke guessed that Naruto hadn’t been happy to wake up alone. 

Quickly, he pinched Naruto’s lips together, one of the few effective ways of keeping Naruto quiet. The other two methods weren’t acceptable in public. 

“Shhh, we have a wedding today, remember? You and I are a happy couple and no one is going to wonder otherwise,” Sasuke threw in a slightly pleading tone.

Naruto nodded, though he clearly didn’t like it. 

Sasuke removed his fingers from Naruto’s lips and finished fixing his tie. “Thank you.” He smiled a little. 

Standing this close, he could see the little lines under Naruto’s eyes, and the dark mark that just peeked out from under his collar. Well, served him right. Naruto had left far too many marks on Sasuke requiring no less than one coat of foundation and two coats of coverup.

Naruto sighed and nodded again. “It’s fine. But I want to talk later.” 

Sasuke’s heart did a dangerous pit-pat. Later they’d have to end it again. Did Naruto know that? Last night's comments about a mistake, well, they just were heat of the moment words, it wasn’t real. He nodded. “We’ll talk,” he promised softly. 

Naruto smiled and visibly relaxed. “Do I look okay?” 

“Yes. Now hurry on out front, they were just asking where you were.” Sasuke let him go. 

He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Naruto didn’t know that last night hadn’t changed anything. He knew Naruto well enough to know that much. Which meant that it was up to Sasuke. He was going to have to be the one to save them both and put his foot down. God, he didn’t want to do it. But he had to. Right? 

* * *

The wedding went off without a hitch. Everyone gathered in the large tent for the reception and Sasuke made it through his speech without any trouble. He sat as the dancing started, his eyes on his brother, and he smiled. It was good to see him finally as happy as he deserved to be. 

Ultimately it had all been worth it, the mess he’d made with Naruto again. To see his brother happy and content was worth anything. He just hoped that Naruto would agree when all was said and done.

“Sasuke.” 

Sasuke turned and saw Naruto standing next to him, hand held out. 

“Let’s dance,” Naruto said, pushing his hand forward a little more toward Sasuke. 

Sasuke leaned back and chuckled, “You can’t dance.” He shook his head. He couldn’t remember ever having danced with Naruto. He’d seen Naruto dance though, well, more like jump around playing air guitar, but it was probably similar to Naruto’s dancing style.

“Yes, I can.” 

“But I don’t really like dancing…” Sasuke said with a shrug. Dancing was usually awkward at best, and embarrassing at worst. And given what he assumed were Naruto’s dancing skills, he feared for his toes. 

Naruto smiled a little. “Come on, I want one dance.” 

Sasuke looked up at him, then down at the hand held out. He felt a lump in his throat. This was a test, he could feel it. Did Naruto know it was a test? Those clear, steady eyes didn’t give anything away, probably because they had nothing to hide. 

There were so many reasons to not take his hand. It would only keep Naruto feeling like they had a real relationship. It would make what he had to talk with him about so much worse. 

But he longed to take that hand, forget that this was all pretend and just enjoy this moment.  _ Or maybe this doesn’t have to be a moment? _ a voice deep inside him whispered. 

While Sasuke debated, Naruto’s hand never wavered, however, he kept looking at Sasuke with a small, confident smile. In his blue eyes was a familiar fear growing. Sasuke recognized that fear because it was the same one he had. Naruto was just as worried as Sasuke about trying again. 

All the time they’d been apart, Sasuke told himself he couldn’t turn back the clock, he couldn’t change the past. Well, he still couldn’t. But he could start something new from now. He knew he’d be the worst kind of fool to turn down this opportunity. Especially considering everything Naruto made him feel.

Sasuke tentatively placed his hand on top of Naruto’s, letting Naruto pull him to his feet and lead him to the dance floor. Sasuke’s heart was pounding. Maybe to someone else not in the habit of overthinking it would just be a dance, but he didn’t see it that way. 

Naruto kept hold of his hand and settled the other on Sasuke’s waist. The song changed, something slow and sweet that Sasuke didn’t recognize. Then suddenly Naruto was pulling him into a dance, and all Sasuke had to do was follow. It wasn’t his strong suit but he tried. Following Naruto’s lead, they danced around the corners of the room. Naruto’s dancing wasn’t going to win a competition, but they were better than the sad couples who could only sway to the song. 

Sasuke relaxed in Naruto’s arms and everything else melted away, the room, the doubts in his mind, until it was just the music and Naruto. He looked into Naruto’s eyes and he smiled a little. 

“Why haven’t we danced before?” he asked. 

“I guess we still have things to learn about each other.” Naruto’s smile was dazzling.

Sasuke chuckled and shook his head. The line was corny but possibly true.

The song ended all too quickly and Sasuke was a little sad when they stopped dancing. He smiled softly at Naruto. “We should dance more sometime when my thighs and ass aren’t sore as fuck,” he whispered.

Naruto laughed and nodded. “You’re telling me!” he said. Naruto had never really mastered talking softly. 

Sasuke laughed and they went to sit back down. On the way, they saw Itachi and Kakashi slipping away. Sasuke chuckled. 

“I want to go to say goodbye to him,” he said, leaving Naruto. The happy couple would be gone for about six months while Kakashi worked abroad. 

He ran after them, catching them in the garage. “You guys are bailing on your own wedding reception?” He chuckled. 

“Bailing? We already had the cake and did our dance. All the good stuff is over,” Kakashi said. He smiled and gave Sasuke a hug. “Thanks for coming.” 

Sasuke hugged him back and nodded. “Of course.” 

Kakashi moved aside and gave the brothers a moment while he went to get another bag. 

Itachi hugged his brother and smiled. “I saw you dancing. I’m glad you and Naruto seem to be doing better,” he said. 

Sasuke pulled back, baffled. “Better?” 

Itachi smiled. “Come on, I knew you two have been having trouble these last few months. And I thought things were rocky when you first arrived. But it seems like you two are working on it. It’s good. When he’s the right one, you should work for it. Love is hard, but don’t stop trying,” he said. 

Sasuke blushed, Itachi, as usual, had said exactly what he needed to hear. “Yeah.” 

He said a last goodbye to his brother and new brother-in-law before he went back to the party. 


	10. The End

The drive back to town was quiet, both Naruto and Sasuke lost in thought. Or at least Sasuke was probably thinking. Naruto was listening to the radio, smiling, and still thinking of their dance together. Everything had been absolutely perfect in those moments while they twirled about together. He’d keep that memory with him forever. 

It wasn’t until they pulled back up in front of Naruto’s building that he realized this was it. The End. Show Over. He’d played the part of a fake boyfriend and now it was back to being single. 

He looked at Sasuke, panic probably visible on his face. Last night had meant something, right? And the dance? Admittedly, when they’d tumbled into bed together, Naruto hadn’t been thinking about it being the restart of their relationship. During the middle of it all, he’d thought it might be a mistake, but when he’d woken up that morning, alone in Sasuke’s bed, he knew that it needed to be the start over of the two of them. They clearly still cared about each other, and fighting their feelings was wrong. It would be better to fight that other stuff, like shitty communication habits, instead. 

When Sasuke had so carefully taken Naruto’s hand for a dance, it had felt so good, moving together and feeling happy in Sasuke’s arms. They’d danced several more times before the party had ended, and each time Sasuke grew more radiant. It had to have meant something. It sure as hell had meant something to Naruto. 

Sasuke looked over at him, his face as inscrutable as ever. 

“So that’s it?” Naruto asked, a sharp spike of pain in his heart. 

“I’m giving you a chance to leave,” Sasuke said softly, turning so his body was facing Naruto. “If you go now, I won’t blame you and I won’t contact you again.”

“Why the hell would I want that?” Naruto demanded, frowning. “Do you want that?” 

Sasuke’s lips turned up in a little smile. “If you come with me, I’m going to start fighting. For you. For us. I won’t let you go again.”

Naruto’s upset heart turned upside down and he just about melted into his seat. He couldn’t believe Sasuke, his Sasuke, was saying something downright romantic. 

“You won’t?” Naruto asked, his voice catching a little. 

Sasuke shook his head. “It’ll be hard work, Naruto. You and I are already at a disadvantage, but I think we can do it. We split up for a reason and we need to work on our communication and how we express feelings. But I think fighting for our relationship is better than just fighting how we feel about each other.”

Honestly, Naruto stopped listening as Sasuke got all practical. But it was sweet how he had already started to plan out how they could make this work. This was the part of Sasuke that had always been endearing to him, that silly time when he babbled on about work and plans. As if that had anything to do with romance. But when Sasuke echoed what Naruto had been thinking as well, he beamed. 

“Are you listening?” Sasuke suddenly asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. 

“I love you, too!” Naruto grinned and unbuckled, throwing himself into Sasuke’s arms. 

He could feel how Sasuke’s heart was pounding and Naruto giggled happily. 

“I… love you,” Sasuke said, only choking on the words a little. 

Naruto didn’t mind Sasuke’s stammering. Just trying to say it was enough for now. He kissed him, sealing the promise between them. 

“Let’s go back to your place.” Naruto smiled and settled back in his seat. He wanted to give Sasuke a proper kiss, which was hard to do in the car. 

Sasuke chuckled a little. “Not yet. We have one stop first.”

“What’s that? Food?” Naruto asked hopefully. 

“Nope.” Sasuke shook his head. “I have a small grand gesture to make. We’re going to the Humane Society. Might be time to look into getting that kitten you want.” He smiled and shot Naruto a look, his eyes twinkling happily. 

Naruto felt himself melt all over again. For once, there wasn’t a movie reference to do the moment justice. Well, maybe just one. “As you wish.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading to the end of this story! I'm really glad I went on this journey with you all and I hoped you enjoyed it!


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